You Have a Friend in Me

As Jac ages, one thing has remained the same - his love for Toy Story. Mainly Buzz Lightyear and Woody. I honestly can't remember a time in our lives without those lovable characters. Of course, kids often outgrow their favorite toys, just like in Toy Story 2. But that's one thing with Jac's autism; he has continued to love these characters for 21 years.

When Toy Story 4 came out several years ago, that was the year of Jac's major spine surgeries. The new and improved Buzz Lightyear hit the store shelves for a new and improved hefty price tag. We were going to be in the hospital over Easter. Jac wasn't going to be able to do anything, so it just made sense to splurge and get him the new and improved Buzz toy. 

Those eight days in the hospital were hard. They were hard because Jac has autism. They were hard because Jac doesn't like to stay still. They were really hard because Jac had to keep still and was in pain. I don't remember much about those days. I never left the hospital, and I am pretty sure I never got more than 15 minutes of uninterrupted sleep at a time.

One of the few things I do remember during that stressful time is that the hospital loaned us a TV with a DVD player for Jac's room. I swear we kept Toy Story on a continuous loop for eight days. Out of all the movies we took with us, that was the only one Jac wanted to watch during his hospitalization, so that’s the only one we played.  

Thank goodness it is my favorite Disney show and was also a favorite of many of Jac's doctors and nurses. His doctors would walk in and start flying Buzz around through the air. They, too, would recite the lines from the movie. This level of care really lets you know your child is at the right hospital. 

Toy Story continues to remain prevalent in our household today. Although Jac may not play with his Toy Story action figures as much, he still watches the movies daily. Now that he is interested in music, he seems to enjoy soundtracks. We now find ourselves dancing to the Toy Story theme song and working 300-piece puzzles to the soundtrack 

We talk about why Buzz fell and broke his arm. We talk about why the character Sid is bad. But more importantly, we talk about Buzz’s good friends - Woody, Ham and Rex, and how they have been good toys to Andy. 

I expect these characters will stay around our household for quite a while, or as the movie says, “…to infinity and beyond!” 

Identifying with movie characters is an important way to build social and emotional connections. Learn about additional ways to support your child as they develop relationships and social skills.