IDAHO FALLS — The Southeast Idaho Special Needs Christmas Ball is returning for its fifth year this weekend.

The event is free and open to all ages. It will take place Dec. 6 at Hope Lutheran Church and School, located at 2071 12th Street in Idaho Falls. A dinner will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by the dance from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“It’s a night where they’re not judged for being different,” Kenadie Anderson, who created the event, told EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s a night for them to come out and have fun.”

Anderson said her brother, Caleb Goodson, is autistic. Goodson originally proposed doing this special needs dance as his senior project, but his idea was turned down.

“The teacher basically said no. She wouldn’t allow it,” Goodson said.

Anderson, who was a freshman

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