I have a 6 year old son with autism who has loved spiders since infancy (deep love) and wants to be a “spider scientist” but doesn’t think they exist- are there any spider scientists who could chat with my son? @AAS_arachnology #spiders #arachnology #autism

I can’t stress enough how long he’s loved spiders. Spider blankets, spider books at bedtime, he even identified as a spider for the first four years of his life! I have a master’s in biology and a certificate in acarology but he doesn’t believe me (mom doesn’t count).

This is Rocco two days ago.

Rocco with a Bold Jumping spider earlier this summer.

He especially wants to see someone talk about live spiders. I would gladly pay what I could afford to give him this experience.

He would LOVE it if any spider scientists could send him a video - he would love to see spiders and hear facts. His name is Rocco and you have all made his day!! Thank you!!