I’ve already mentioned the birds and the snails and the fun we had trying to have a phylum pet house. I understood that my HFA children struggled to go out into the wide world, so I brought the world to them a little bit at a time.

Another creature that joined our home was a hermit crab.

Individuals with autism tend to use their senses in unusual ways, so tasting the hermit crab was a concern. Although you can imagine the crab pinching if someone tried to eat them, they often retreat inside their shell when threatened. Therefore, we did not get the crab until I knew the children would respond and obey to the basic idea of “no touching unless mom helps.”

We would interact with the crab a little bit each day. Crabs are pretty simple – hide in the shell, reach out of the shell. K was initially freaked out when the animal would turn from a rock-like thing to a moving creature, but it provided excellent lessons in cause and effect. If she wanted to see all of the moving appendages, she had to be gentle and patient. It took months of exposure but she did learn and came to really enjoy he little guy.