Autistic Boy Was Depressed After Local Blockbuster Closed Down, So His Parents Recreated It At Home

When his autistic son’s favorite video store, Blockbuster, announced they were closing down, this South Texas dad came up with the perfect idea to recreate the shop at home. “My autistic brother was sad that Blockbuster was closing down,” Javier Zuniga, the autistic man’s sibling, wrote on Twitter. “So my parents made a mini one at home for him!”

The emotional moment was captured in pictures and the post went viral. It got more than 94,000 likes in less than two days with people commenting it was ‘parenting done right’.

Javier said that while his brother didn’t say anything, he was laughing with joy, smiling, and clapping hands. The parents made sure that their 20-year-old son’s favorite movies were there – including Veggie Tales, Rugrats, Barney and Elmo titles.

Blockbuster first opened back in 1985. By 1989, it had become so popular that a new store was opening every 17 hours, as recorded by the New York Post. According to the same source, due to the rise of services like Netflix, there are now only 12 Blockbuster Video shops left in America – nine in Alaska and three in Texas. And, of course, one personal ‘Blockbuster’ at Javier Zuniga’s brother’s home.

More info: Twitter (h/t)