10 Halloween tips & ideas for trick-or-treaters with autism
Great autism-friendly ideas for Halloween!
1. For those who may not be able to say Trick or Treat, try these Happy Halloween cards that your children can hand out. Learn more at Behavior Frontiers here. 
4. "Last year I practiced trick or treating with my son in the days leading up to Halloween. He would knock on the door to the bedroom, I would open it, and he would say "trick or treat!" Then I would give him a little toy or candy to put in his bag." - Holly
5. "The most important thing is do what is fun for your child and don't be too hard on yourself if a meltdown happens anyway." - Kari
6. "One good idea (if you're close with your neighbors) is telling a few neighbors ahead of time to provide something specific for when the child comes to the door as an alternative in case they don't like candy (in either a flyer or maybe meeting with them in person)...like a toy or pretzels or something. The parent of the child can bring it to the neighbors to give out to the child with autism so that they don't feel different or left out if they don't eat candy." - Nicole
7. "Jackson doesn’t like the feel of most costumes, so for the past few years, he just wears a funny Halloween t-shirt. He is
still being festive, without being uncomfortable. We also print out a card like this and tape it to his treat bucket so when he is unable to respond to questions or say trick or treat and the home owner can be more understanding. Spreading autism awareness AND getting candy – that’s a win-win for us!" - J-Jaye 8. "My son is 15 yrs old, and he is finally enjoying Halloween. Every year was a struggle, he never liked the costumes and we never went trick or treating. This year he is asking to wear his costume, even though it is the same one from last year, I don’t care!" - Denise
9. "I make my little dude's costume out of a sweat pants & a hoodie- we've done a parrot & the stay puff marshmallow man, and working on the Incredible Hulk for this year:) He looks cute, and is warm & comfy." - Kemrie
10. "Don't feel like you have to do it! If the child is not enjoying it don't feel obligated to participate because every other kid loves it. It is ok." - Peggy
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The Autism Speaks blog features opinions from people throughout the autism community. Each blog represents the point of view of the author and does not necessarily reflect Autism Speaks' beliefs or point of view.
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Autism mom Lauren Casper writes, "Holidays can be hard with special needs children as the energy, excitement, environment, and normal routine amps up and gets turned on its head. We prepare as best we can and then go with the flow..."
Halloween doesn’t come without it’s challenges, though. Choosing a costume for Mareto is hard. For his first Halloween he went as the courageous lion from the Wizard of Oz. It was a simple lion jumpsuit with the hood being a mane. I tied the red ribbon around his tail and made his “medal” out of felt and pinned it to his chest. It was warm and cute. He didn’t love the hood and kept ripping it off but that was fine. We had no idea he had autism and sensory processing disorders at the time.
Ties that bind: The successes and challenges of Halloween for us
Ties That Bind: The successes and challenges of Halloween for us
This guest post is from Lauren Casper who writes at Laurencasper.com. Her son Mareto is on the autism spectrum. You can read this post on her blog here.
Halloween is a fun little tradition that I grew up enjoying. My mom made most of our costumes and I still remember some of my favorites: princess, angel, clown, hobo, rapunzel, pumkpin. I couldn’t wait to have my own little ones to dress up and walk through the neighborhood with … and later sneak their candy.Halloween doesn’t come without it’s challenges, though. Choosing a costume for Mareto is hard. For his first Halloween he went as the courageous lion from the Wizard of Oz. It was a simple lion jumpsuit with the hood being a mane. I tied the red ribbon around his tail and made his “medal” out of felt and pinned it to his chest. It was warm and cute. He didn’t love the hood and kept ripping it off but that was fine. We had no idea he had autism and sensory processing disorders at the time.
Last year we had two little loves to dress up. I wanted them to coordinate and I knew Mareto had to wear something that wouldn’t feel like a costume. He had recently been diagnosed with autism and SPD and was having a rough time. I decided Thing 1 and Thing 2 was the way to go. He wore red sweats and I made the “Thing 1” circle out of felt and sewed it to his sweatshirt. I sprayed blue hair dye all over his curls and he was fine because nothing really seemed like anything other than normal clothes. And of course he couldn’t see his hair so he has no idea it was blue! (Arsema was only 5 months old so she wore a Thing 2 sleeper bought on amazon and I put a blue headband on her while she rode around in the ergo).This year Mareto is older and has made progress in therapy. He’s more aware, but still struggles with sensory issues quite a bit. I have to cut the tags out of most of his clothing so I knew the costume would need to be low key again. Thankfully I found something at the thrift store that works out perfectly… a strap on airplane. Mareto will wear jeans and a thermal shirt tonight (a completely normal outfit for him) and then we’ll strap the airplane on for as long as he’ll tolerate. If it gets to be too much we’ll just take it off no problem.
Mareto also won’t say “trick-or-treat” (though he’ll probably thank you if he comes to your door). Last year we told him to say “bye-bye” and he did… after we’d gotten back down to the street. He wasn’t being disobedient or rude. It literally took him that long to process the command and get his mouth to say the words. We’re doing better this year but “trick-or-treat” is still out of reach.
Mareto, like many young children, gets frightened easily by strange noises and sights. So we’re careful to avoid the scary homes and make sure he’s having fun … because that’s what it’s all about, after all. I want my children to have a bank full of happy and joyful memories, not get nervous and frightened when Halloween rolls around. So we’re careful to read Mareto’s cues and follow his lead.
Holidays can be hard with special needs children as the energy, excitement, environment, and normal routine amps up and gets turned on it’s head. We prepare as best we can and then go with the flow and hope for the best!
I’d like to close with this little reminder for those of you who may be handing out candy tonight…
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As the mother of two boys with autism, Kimberlee Rutan McCafferty thanks her community for their understanding and acceptance of her family. Better than simply tolerating her sons' different and sometimes challenging behaviors, her neighbors have welcomed them.
I adore Halloween.
How Halloween fostered autism acceptance in my neighborhood
How Halloween fostered autism acceptance in my neighborhood
This is a post by Kimberlee Rutan McCafferty, mother to two sons on the autism spectrum and an Autism Family Partner at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). CHOP is an Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network site. Kim is also the author of a blog about her two children with autism at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com.I adore Halloween.
The truth is, like my birthday, the revelry surrounding this holiday endures for an entire month, and if I could, I’d extend it all year (once again, much like my birthday). The love and reverence I feel for All Saints Day extends all the way back to the early days of my childhood. My devotion was ramped up considerably by my obsession for voracious reading about ghosts, goblins, and all manner of haunts with a contraband flashlight in my bedroom . It culminated with the excitement of wearing my mother’s homemade costumes in our town’s Halloween parade, the memory of which shames me, as my kids’ spooky-wear always hails from a plastic bag (thank God I scrapbook, the guilt would consume me). In short, I’m a groupie.Last year, I even dubbed myself the Halloqueen. I am that serious.
I don’t think it’s possible for me to devote just one blog entry to this fabulous holiday, but today, I’m just going to focus on the grand denouement of the day itself, and a realization I came to as we paraded throughout our neighborhood, me and my mother each with a boy in hand.
In addition to loving Halloween (and who doesn’t?!), I really love my neighbors.
It will be six years ago this January that Jeff, Justin and I left Washington, DC for the suburbs of Jersey, and I will say that the relocation did not occur without some trepidation on both of our parts. My husband and I had lived within the shadow of the White House for over fifteen years. Our social lives, and most of our friends, were encapsulated within the confines of the beltway. We’d both gone to grad school there, had taken our first stabs at “real” employment in our nation’s capital. For some odd reason, I never got lost while driving throughout the city (which frankly was another reason I mourned leaving the area). Fortunately, our family had the luxury of choosing where we lived, and Jeff and I both knew moving back to the Garden State would afford Justin more educational opportunities, as well as more access to family. We were grateful we had a choice.
But in some ways, for me, returning to where I grew up felt like a step backwards.
I quickly got over it, in part because I was insanely lucky my spouse could move two hundred miles away and keep his job, and in part because this was the best thing for my kid, and really, it’s supposed to be (at least in part) about him. Our first few days in our new residence were literally spent digging out from the mountain of paper our moving company had wrapped our treasures in (I recall thinking that if Justin hadn’t been at my mother’s, we would have lost him in the house). I’d had ambitious plans of getting out to introduce myself to the neighbors, but there was always another box to unpack, and since our son would be returning to us in seventy-hours, organizing became our priority. I need not have worried, because our across-the-street neighbors came by with their lovely children and chocolate donuts (I immediately liked them), and the hopes that we had a child close to their kids’ ages. I remember my heart clenching a little as I realized our sons were in the womb at the same time, but knowing that unless my neighbors’ boy liked to spin things, he and Justin probably wouldn’t be playing together. I didn’t divulge our situation then, just thanked them for much needed carbs, and a promise to visit soon.
Then Justin came back, six therapists from Early Intervention started working with him, and I barely left the house again until February.
It finally occurred to me after a month of hibernation that the families surrounding us might be curious as to why we only came outside to get the mail. One day, when I noticed a few of the locals were gathered across the street, I gathered a bundled Justin up in my arms, grabbed a few brownies from a box I’d managed to throw together, and took the plunge. We walked over hand-in-hand, and I introduced both of us to the gals. I explained that we weren’t in the Witness Protection Program, and that the cars constantly rotating outside our abode were from Early Intervention. I divulged that Justin had autism, and waited to see what their response would be.
Honestly, they couldn’t have been more kind.
The initial precedent that was set has endured for the past six years, and has ultimately included Zachary as well. The women in our corner constantly ask how the boys are doing, and genuinely want to know the answer. I know, without having been told, that the people in closest proximity to us have discussed autism with their kids, and told them to remain respectful to my boys, to always say “hi” when they come into contact with them. I’m also confident that if anyone ever spoke in a derogatory manner about my progeny, these same children would defend them to the hilt. I happen to have the great fortune to live in a community where children are still taught to have compassion.Believe me, I’m lucky on that front too.
I realized that lately I’ve begun to take this universal compassion a bit for granted, and I shouldn’t. My Mom reminded me of how fortunate we are yesterday, after running into the neighborhood clan on our trick-or-treat extravaganza, as ballerinas, witches, and monsters paraded past us with the sole intent of satisfying that devilish sugar fix. The woman who had initially welcomed us made a point of stopping, complimenting the boys on their costumes, and wishing them a happy holiday. She also made mention of what a good boy Justin was at the last house, standing patiently, and taking only one piece of candy when the bowl was proffered. She also noticed how happy he was to participate. These are all things he and I have been working on for years, small goals that have finally come to fruition. The other moms noticed too.
Validation and chocolate, hand-in-hand. Why wouldn’t I love this holiday?
I’ve been extremely lucky these past eight years in terms of Justin and the community at large. There haven’t been more than one or two stares or comments directed at my boy, which I attribute to the work of the autism advocates who came before me. That universal acceptance has helped, given me one less burden to bear. The fact that I live on a street where my boys are not only tolerated, but welcomed, has meant the world to me.
And today, as Halloween comes to a close (sigh!), I just want to say thanks.
Explore more: The Autism Speaks blog features opinions from people throughout the autism community. Each blog represents the point of view of the author and does not necessarily reflect Autism Speaks' beliefs or point of view.
Autism-friendly Halloween events calendar
Autism-Friendly Halloween Events Calendar
From Spooktaculars to Icky Fests, Autism Speaks is proud to share our not-so-scary Halloween events calendar! Many museums and other service providers across the country are hosting sensory-friendly events for the whole family. Is one happening in your area?
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