Here’s one more awesome one before we jump into face painting:
“My ASD son never lasted long trick or treating, so we always had one parent available to take him back sooner than our other child when he was young enough to need an escort. This worked out because we also needed someone at home to give out the candy, which he enjoyed doing. So I'd take him early, go out and get back by the time it was getting busy while my partner stayed out with our other child. Costumes were always basically a very comfy sweatsuit, nothing on the face, to meet sensory needs.
We also didn't police candy-eating the night of and he often didn't have anything left over, lol.
But when we did, we had a weeklong candy fest, starting with up to 7 candies per day and then tapering down by 1 each day until a week later we were done. This way it didn't linger on for a long time. A clear end date was helpful.
His costume this year is a button that says "This is My Halloween Costume" -L
In the same article linked below, they shared: Non-speaking trick-or-treating:
"Kids may not know they’re getting some extra practice signing or using their AAC device when they go trick-or-treating, but hey, here’s to silver linings!
-Many AAC programs come with a preloaded Halloween page. If your child’s doesn’t, and you don’t know how to program new words into your kid’s device, there’s still time to ask their speech therapist for help!
-Work together to create and decorate a card that reads “trick or treat” that they can hold up.
If they want to speak the words but are not easily understood, you can repeat it after them with an affirming high five or praise like “That’s great — you said, ‘Trick or treat!’”
-You can also let trusted neighbors know in advance that you’ll be visiting, and be sure to practice with your kiddo before heading out!"
Great one from N: "My son always gave out candy and never liked to trick or treat. He also liked the Holoween walk at Prospect Park. That may be the solution for some neurodiverse kids."
"We use the Halloween fairy. On Halloween we let him eat as much candy as he wants- which could be a lot but we didn’t stress. Then he left the rest in the living room and the Halloween fairy would come, take the candy, and leave a gift.
A tip for the fairy- donate or throw the candy away or else you may end up eating too much of it!
We also always went with a small group- just our family or one other friend.
And finally, we made sure that any props were attached to the costume and did not need to be carried separately. Freeing up hands was big for us."
From J: "For us, knowing where we are going for trick or treating and viewing the area and decorations in advance of actually trick or treating has been helpful. New decorations plus all the costumes and people and sounds and all of Halloween was too much for our little one the first few years but she seems to be able to ground herself a little bit in things like knowing that the house with the big cat or the staypuff man are coming up."
Here’s one more awesome one before we jump into face painting:
“My ASD son never lasted long trick or treating, so we always had one parent available to take him back sooner than our other child when he was young enough to need an escort. This worked out because we also needed someone at home to give out the candy, which he enjoyed doing. So I'd take him early, go out and get back by the time it was getting busy while my partner stayed out with our other child. Costumes were always basically a very comfy sweatsuit, nothing on the face, to meet sensory needs.
We also didn't police candy-eating the night of and he often didn't have anything left over, lol.
But when we did, we had a weeklong candy fest, starting with up to 7 candies per day and then tapering down by 1 each day until a week later we were done. This way it didn't linger on for a long time. A clear end date was helpful.
His costume this year is a button that says "This is My Halloween Costume" -L
In the same article linked below, they shared: Non-speaking trick-or-treating:
"Kids may not know they’re getting some extra practice signing or using their AAC device when they go trick-or-treating, but hey, here’s to silver linings!
-Many AAC programs come with a preloaded Halloween page. If your child’s doesn’t, and you don’t know how to program new words into your kid’s device, there’s still time to ask their speech therapist for help!
-Work together to create and decorate a card that reads “trick or treat” that they can hold up.
If they want to speak the words but are not easily understood, you can repeat it after them with an affirming high five or praise like “That’s great — you said, ‘Trick or treat!’”
-You can also let trusted neighbors know in advance that you’ll be visiting, and be sure to practice with your kiddo before heading out!"
M says: "I send my neurotypical kid with friends and take my son, who has ASD, on his own (his preference)."
Great one from N: "My son always gave out candy and never liked to trick or treat. He also liked the Holoween walk at Prospect Park. That may be the solution for some neurodiverse kids."
"We use the Halloween fairy. On Halloween we let him eat as much candy as he wants- which could be a lot but we didn’t stress. Then he left the rest in the living room and the Halloween fairy would come, take the candy, and leave a gift.
A tip for the fairy- donate or throw the candy away or else you may end up eating too much of it!
We also always went with a small group- just our family or one other friend.
And finally, we made sure that any props were attached to the costume and did not need to be carried separately. Freeing up hands was big for us."
Thanks JG!
From J: "For us, knowing where we are going for trick or treating and viewing the area and decorations in advance of actually trick or treating has been helpful. New decorations plus all the costumes and people and sounds and all of Halloween was too much for our little one the first few years but she seems to be able to ground herself a little bit in things like knowing that the house with the big cat or the staypuff man are coming up."
I found this great article which links to specific social stories: Creating a More Inclusive Halloween Experience: https://medium.com/@jen_45709/creating-a-more-inclusive-halloween-experience-ebcceffb4051
It also lists common allergens in different candy.