For many people living with autism, routines are an important part of maintaining a feeling of stability and comfort in their lives.

For 20-year-old Hector Andres Zuniga that routine included visiting his local Blockbuster store in Sharyland, Texas a couple times a week.

This non-verbal man had made the trip to the store at least twice each week to pick up snacks and rent his favorite movies including "Barney", "Rugrats", "Elmo" or "Blue's Clues".

That was all about to change one day when the store employee approached his mother.

The Blockbuster employee told Hector's mother Rosa, the heartbreaking news that the store would be closing.

Blockbuster had declared bankruptcy in 2010, and only a handful of stores remained open across the U.S.

"[Hector Andres] is a happy-go-lucky kid," Hector's father, Hector Sr. said. "He's all heart, he's very tender, but like anyone else, he has bad days. And we knew one of those bad days were around the corner when we found out that the Blockbuster was about to close."

That's when Rosa got an idea. Since the store would be closing its doors permanently, they would be selling off all of it's inventory and that could create an opportunity for the family to create a new routine for Hector.

Why not buy some of the items and recreate Blockbuster at their home?

"The employees told us when they'd start selling their stock, and when they did, I was one of the first customers in the store," Hector Sr. said

The family bought all kinds of things for their at-home-Blockbuster store including DVDs, signs and even a rack that the employees helped Rosa set up and transport to their home.

"Those employees really came out to bat for my son," Hector Sr. said. "They really paid attention and did a hell of a job."

On April 23 the day came, where the store finally closed.

The entire Zuniga family, including Hector's younger brother 19-year-old Javier, went to the store for the last time.

When Hector made a bee-line for the rack he usually rents from, he got the message loud and clear when the DVDs were all gone.

"He understood, I could see it in his eyes," Hector Sr. said. "And he almost started having a meltdown."

That's when his dad broke the news to him.

"This place is closing, but it's OK. We have a surprise for you at home," he said.

After getting home, Hector Sr. took his son to the room with his eyes covered to surprise him.

"It's hard for my son to express emotions," Hector Sr. said. "But when he saw the room, his eyes were as big as saucers."

In disbelief, Hector went up to the DVD rack and touched them almost to make sure that they were real, his family recounts.

Please with his surprise Hector showed his appreciation of the gesture.

"His way of saying "˜I love you,' is by going up to you and grabbing your earlobe," Hector Sr. told HuffPost. "So he came up to me and grabbed my ear ... it was one of those moments that us parents live for."

His younger brother Javier shared the special moment on Twitter:

"Every once in a while everything just seems to work," Hector Sr. said. "And this time, it just did."