MaRiO

Andrew and the kids enjoy playing Paper Mario together at night. The boys have to earn this time by being good throughout the day. They have had several sad evenings when Mario wasn't allowed due to their poor choices.

The major drawback is ASD boy has decided that his name should be Mario. We don't mind calling him Mario but his teachers want him to use his birth name at school. This causes more problems and he acts like the character Mario in class. ASD boy yells, "I'm Mario" with his little fist in the air, makes random noises, and stomps on other people's feet, all in an effort to convince everyone that he is indeed Mario.
When he is asked his name in public, he always states, "Mario." He even uses a funny Italian accent with it. I've tried to teach him to say, "My name is Gabriel but I like to be called Mario." This isn't okay with him though. He's just Mario.
This has also changed his color interests. He likes to wear shade of blue and red all of the time. We can rarely get him to wear other colors. It's "shade of blue" because it's a coping mechanism for him. It was only a few months ago that he loathed anything blue.
I would be happy if the Mario phase ended but I fear what phase is lurking behind my son's gorgeous blue eyes.