Crab

When I was in college I remember being drawn to the Dr. Temple Grandin story. Not only was she a professor at my college, Colorado State University, but they were also releasing a movie about her titled Temple Grandin, my senior year. Being a student teacher at the time, I was eager to watch the movie and learn more about Dr. Grandin’s story and how it connected to students that I was and would be teaching in the future. 

During the movie there was one memorable moment that I still feel connected to today. In the scene Temple is dysregulated and overwhelmed at her family’s cattle farm and she goes into a cattle chute,hoping to find comfort. She had seen how the chute calmed the cows down and was craving that same sensation. 

This moment stuck out to me as it was an incredibly impactful moment for Dr. Grandin, and helped me understand how similar the needs of humans and animals are, how interconnected the world is.

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As Dawson’s fascination with animals continued to grow, I began to see how Dawson understood the world around him, and how he connected what he knew about animals to what he was learning about himself. When he would learn a new fact about an animal, he would try to connect it to what humans did to meet the same need. For example, he would reference the teeth he had and how they would compare with an omnivore - because he likes meat… and candy (instead of vegetables). But he would also use the information he learned about animals to adapt our world to them. When he would play with the plastic kitchen food at home, he would use it to feed animals based on whether they were a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. 

One day as we were driving to school, he saw that a neighbor’s house was for sale. Given that this was by far his favorite house in town - the woman would have elaborate decorations for every season - he was concerned that she wouldn’t be living near us anymore. I explained to him that she was moving to a smaller house down the street. Completely flabbergasted by the thought of downsizing, he inquired about why she would want a smaller house. I shared that she has adult kids and no longer needed the same amount of space that she used to, so she was moving to a smaller house where she wouldn’t have to clean and take care of so much space. 

Dawson paused for a moment and then confidently said, “Oh, she’s a crab!” 

Taken back by his statement, I asked him to explain what he meant. He then enlightened me with a glimpse into his mind as he explained that crabs live in shells until the shell is no longer the right size for them. Then they leave their shell and find another one that is a better size. Therefore, our neighbor was a crab - she was moving from a house that no longer ‘fit’ her, to one that was a better size for her. 

He was right, that is exactly what she was doing, and once I heard it, I realized it was a very appropriate, natural comparison to the act of downsizing - though I never would have thought to make the comparison

As I processed this and shared it with my husband and others, I continued to think back to that scene in the Temple Grandin movie, where she understands herself better by relating to what she knows about animals. Dawson had this natural gift of seeing the interconnections between humans and animals - just as Dr. Grandin has done. 

I am so grateful for the moments in life that stay with me, such as the one in the Temple Grandin movie. This has allowed me to appreciate Dawson’s beautiful gift of connecting himself to the other living beings in our world.

**Check out where you can stream the Temple Grandin movie (2010) here. (unaffiliated link)