Via Clickorlando.com:

OCOEE, Fla. – Prom weekend kicked off near Orlando on Friday night with a huge party featuring “Star Wars.”

Twenty characters from Disney World joined the Autism and Related Disabilities Gym Program to dance with kids of every age.

“Some of our kids don’t get to go to prom,” organizer Jo-Anne Houwers said. “So we make sure that they do.”

Houwers has helped spearhead the event in Ocoee for the last 18 years.

On Friday, little girls were dancing with an R2-D2 unit, while a group of boys were doing the Electric Slide with Stormtroopers.

“They dance. They interact with the characters. They can be themselves. There’s no worries,” Houwers said. “Everybody here has gone through something. So we all get it. We all understand.”

“You’ll see kids that have never interacted at all,” said Theresa Nachtskeym, a mother. “They been very secluded, and when the characters come out, they are full blown.”

Organizers said everyone who appeared at the prom, including the “Star Wars” characters, were volunteers. They said this really shows the community is here for them and for their children.