Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
For children who like a consistent schedule, have sensory issues, or suffer from food allergies/sensitivities, Halloween can be a nightmare in more ways than one. Parties at school excite the calmest of children, the bright lights on the streets send senses into a spiral, there’s enough candy to give a dentist nightmares, and the screams of other kids, decorations and lawn ornaments are enough to send our kids into a full blown meltdown before the day is over. Despite the chaos, there are things you can do to take the EEK out of Halloween. You can choose to Escape it or Embrace it, but if you Know what has worked for others some of the bite can be taken out of the day.
Escape
When anyone asks our son if he’s going out trick-or-treating, he always tells them we’ll be following our Halloween tradition: hiding in the basement with the lights dim, eating take-out and watching a movie. He’s never really been interested in going door to door to receive candy from strangers because he has a peanut allergy. We don’t hand out candy as the doorbell ringing would inevitably start our dog barking. Having a quiet evening watching one of his favorite movies is more enticing to him since he’s not a fan of crowds or loud noises. Plus, I think he finds hiding out rather exciting. There’s something to be said about a quiet evening at home. Fortunately, we live in a relatively quiet neighborhood with no egg tossing and understanding neighbors!
If you opt to leave the house, while it’s difficult to completely to escape Halloween, there are some options for you. Religious organizations often host Fall festival activities for children that aren’t scary, if perhaps not low key. The public library may also have an activity that is less stressful. There’s also the option of going out to eat, but be prepared to field questions as to why you’re not out trick-or-treating!
Embrace
Halloween, however, is hard to hide from even with all best intentions to escape it. If you can’t escape the day, you can choose to embrace it or at least, endure it with some modifications. Our son’s first true encounter with Halloween didn’t happen until kindergarten when his elementary school hosts the Parade of Terror. Considering these were K-5 students who had limitations on the types of costumes they could wear, in actuality the terror was minimal! The students marched around the school while the 5th grade band played scary music and parents “ooh-ed” and “aah-ed.” For five years my son marched either close to his teacher or hand in hand with a teaching assistant. Overall, he adapted well to the event, but it did take some upfront planning.
Preparation is the key a successful day. If your child is used to routine, then this day is going to be anything but routine. Halloween seems to start earlier and earlier each year, so opportunities abound to discuss what happens on the day. If your child scares easily it’s important to discuss that some costumes can be scary, but the person on the inside is the same person they know. If you’re taking your child trick-or-treating, run through a script ahead of time of what to expect. It’s good to repeat the same rules we teach our children the other 364 days of the years: to be wary of strangers, don’t eat unpackaged candy, and to be careful on the road. Rehearse saying trick or treat, as well as please and thank you. For literal children, make sure they know they don’t actually have to play a trick and that they won’t have a trick played on them. Also, be sure your child knows that you won’t be going inside the houses to check them out and it’s generally not appropriate to ask to go inside! You may also want to check your local library for books on Halloween or find social skills stories that cover trick- or-treating.
One of the best parts of preparing for Hallowing is designing just the right costume. Putting one together can be a dream or a nightmare depending on how sensitive your child is to textures. One idea is to incorporate clothing or material that your child already finds comfortable. For instance, in grade 1, Alvin and the Chipmunks were a constant in our house. It was no surprise then that our son wanted to dress up as Alvin for the school parade and party. What an easy costume! My husband donated one of his old, soft, comfortable red turtlenecks to the cause which when worn by a six year old gave us Alvin’s long red shirt. We made a yellow A out of felt that was glued to the front of it. Then we bought a red hat from the dollar store. Our son was able to wear his normal pants so changing his cloths at school was kept to a minimum. In other years, he wore costumes that he bought which could be worn over his regular clothes. One year he went as Mario, the next year he went as Luigi. A word of caution though, pre-packaged costumes can come with accessories that your child might not like the feel of against their skin. Mario and Luigi both came with plastic mustaches that pinched the nose to stay on. As you can imagine they didn’t stay on long and that’s perfectly fine. On this day, comfort is the key to success.
Another factor to consider with costumes is age appropriateness. Depending on your child’s developmental level, he may want to wear an outfit that might be considered too young by his peers. If that’s the case, you may want to discreetly modify it to a more age appropriate costume. For instance, our son was a fan of Peppa Pig in kindergarten. He thought it would be cool to be her on Halloween, even though most of his friends would be wearing superhero costumes. We convinced him that he could go dressed up as a pig who dressed up as a ballplayer wearing a jersey from the local minor league team. He was quite happy with that compromise and unless you looked closely and noticed a paper snout that didn’t stay on long, you’d never know he wasn’t just a baseball player. It didn’t matter, because he knew who he was!
Whatever you decide on a costume, have your child try it on before Halloween so he’ll know how it will feel and how to put it together. If it’s for a school activity and your child is early elementary age, volunteer to help the kids get ready. If you’re not selected, send in a note with the outfit if any explanations are necessary.
The other aspect of Halloween that can send a shiver of fear down the spine of parents: candy. I’m not referring to just cavities, either. Some children are sensitive to the amount of sugar they have or to food dyes. An innocent piece of red licorice can wreak havoc. Then there is the issue of food allergies. Even with careful watching, sometimes a chocolate bar with peanuts can find its way into a bag.
Since Halloween is often the first school party of the year, if you’re not a room parent, now is the time to introduce yourself to one! The room parents I knew were very understanding and did their best to avoid party treats with peanuts. My son’s teachers also asked me to read ingredients just to be on the safe side. One teacher created a separate package just for him so she knew he’d be safe.
Taking your child door to door on Halloween does take some of the control out of your hands. You can’t go ask each neighbor to modify what they hand out, or for that matter how they decorate, to meet the needs of your child, despite the very clever episode of Parenthood where the mother did just that to help Max avoid his fears. If you think it’s going to be too much, again why not modify? Take your child in her costumes to only relatives and friends’ houses who will understand. Our son never wanted to go trick-or-treating, but he did one year want to show his Mario costume to the staff at his favorite video game store. The smile on his face was amazing when they made a fuss over him!
Know
However you choose to escape or embrace Halloween, knowing your child’s limits and preparing in advance will make the day less scary! There are many resources available to help take the fright out of Halloween, but you need to know where to find them up. Here are a few resources that cover tricks to make your Halloween go smoothly no matter what your tradition is:
Social Stories:
Positively Autism. “Travis the Train Goes Trick-or-Treating”: www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/Halloween_TrainStory2.pdf
Positively Autism. “What to Expect on Halloween (A Social Skills Story)”: www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/socialstory_trickortreat.pdf
Tips/Suggestions:
Allred, Shelly. Pathfinders for Autism. “Parent Tips: Halloween Safety”: www. pathfindersforautism.org/articles/ view/parent-tips-halloween-safety
The Autism Blog, Seattle Children’s Hospital. “8 Tips for a Safe Halloween for Your Child With Autism”: http:// theautismblog.seattlechildrens.org/8- tips-for-a-safe-halloween-for-your-child-with-autism
Autism File. “Top 10 Strategies ‘To Ensure Halloween is Healthy and Stress-Free for your Family’ from Autism File Readers”: www.autismfile. com/strategies-safe-halloween
Autism Speaks. “Halloween Tips for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders”: https://www.autismspeaks.org/ blog/2013/10/22/halloween-tips-kids-autism-spectrum-disorders
Shannon Des Roches, Rosa. “Having a Merry But Modified Halloween. Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism”: www.thinkingautismguide. com/2010/10/having-merry-but-modified-halloween.html
Quinones-Fontanez, Lisa. “Making Halloween Fun For Kids With Autism”: www.parents.com/blogs/ to-the-max/2012/10/03/autism/ making-halloween-fun-for-kids-with-autism
Strickland, Alix. “Children with autism and managing Halloween treats.” Autism Daily Network: www.autismdailynewscast.com/ children-with-autism-and-managing-halloween-treats/4217/alixstrickland
Wingert, Shauna. “Because Halloween and Autism Can Be Scary.” The Mighty: http://themighty.com/2014/10/ because-halloween-and-autism-can-be-scary
TV Shows
Normally, I wouldn’t include TV shows on a resources list, but both Parenthood and The Middle have tackled Halloween for Asperger’s kids or for kids with who struggle with social skills. Both these episodes are worth watching if for nothing more than for knowing you’re not alone:
The Middle: Season 3, episode 7, “Halloween II.” Original airdate: Wednesday, October 26, 2011. Comedy.
Parenthood. Season 2, episode 6, “Orange Alert.” Original airdate: Thursday, October 19, 2010. Drama
Elizabeth Irish, MLS, AHIP, is the Assistant Director for Education and Outreach at the Schaffer Library of Health Sciences (Albany Medical College). Her son has a dual diagnosis
of ASD and Tourette’s.
The post EEK! It’s Halloween appeared first on Autism Asperger's Digest.