I have always wondered — what if he never knew?
Fifteen years of watching. Now a tool for every family starting out — before the habit forms.
My son is 16, and he is on the autism spectrum. Somewhere along the way, the rewind and forward button—that tiny, innocent slider at the bottom of the screen—became a loop he couldn't escape. He wasn't watching anymore. He was stimming on the exact same second of video, over and over, for hours.
"All these years, I’ve asked myself the same question: What if the rewind and forward options just didn't exist? What if he never knew it was an option?"
I actually built the first version of BloomPlayer sitting right next to him while he was stuck in one of those loops that lasted hours. Does it magically stop him from stimming? Absolutely not! But this app gives us these beautiful, quiet pockets of time where we can sit together and actually watch a video from start to finish. Sometimes it’s a short funny clip or a song and sometimes history, geography, or even math. Someday, I hope it’s an entire movie.
I built this because it's the tool I desperately needed the day he was diagnosed. But the truth is, this isn't just for neurodivergent kids. It’s for all new parents. Because no child needs to get lost in a screen loop.
This is for every family just starting out. To catch the habit before it forms. Before they even know there’s another way.
Wanting a video player without the endless loops isn't a crazy idea—it's a necessity. Built through late nights and sheer effort, my goal is to keep BloomPlayer free, so any donations go directly toward running costs. But the ultimate dream? That major platforms build this themselves, making this app obsolete. Because no parent should have to pay to help their child.
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