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Halloween is right around the corner. There are Halloween activities going on and we’re preparing for the big night. Kids are excited and counting the days down, picking out their costumes for the night that they go door to door to collect their goodies!
Halloween is different for a child with special needs than it is for a normal child. There are several factors that you have to consider. There are sensory processing disorders, nonverbal children, some can’t have candy, some kids may like bright lights and loud noises and some might not. Let’s go through some of these and some ideas and things that we do that may help you out!
Trick or Treating
It bothers my son when there are too many things going on at once. If there is too much noise he gets upset.
If there are more than a couple people talking, he doesn’t like it. So we always skip houses that have too much going on.
He is also nonverbal, and being that people expect for the child to say, “Trick or treat”, we take a communication device that has been prerecorded to say “trick or treat”, and “thank you.” That way he can just press the buttons at each house.
If your child, like mine, doesn’t eat by mouth, the candy he collects goes to someone else. We have little items that we get from the store that we sneak into his bag! (bugs, bubbles, stickers, etc) Easy peasy!
**Bring along a fidget toy!**
Costumes
If your child has a wheelchair, make a costume around it! One year we made a pirate ship for my son’s chair. That was my favorite! We played the Jake and the Neverland pirates theme song as we walked around. I dressed as a pirate with him.
He has also been a drummer with drums attached to his chair and this year he is going as Daniel from the Karate Kid with a shower built around his chair!
My son will not wear a mask or let me paint his face, so building the costumes around his chair are ideal and he loves it!
If he’s wearing a costume, try it out before you go out and make sure it’s comfortable for him. Also, You might want to remove any tags.
So if you’re child needs a costume, get creative!
Options
A great option for a child with Sensory Processing Disorder, is Trunk or Treating. It’s a bit more mellow. A lot of churches put this on! My kids both like this!
This year we went to the zoo for the Pumpkin Pazoola. We went around to the exhibits for trick or treating and they also had a pumpkin patch in the open field where we got to pick out a pumpkin for each of the kids! So on Halloween night we will probably just sit outside and hand out treats and see all the costumes!
Activities
One activity that is my go to, are sensory bins. My son loves them and they are so easy to put together.
For Halloween I like to use corn kernels. I will take a plastic container, (with a lid for storage) and pour enough kernels to have about an inch depth. Then I add plastic spiders, bugs, bats, etc.
Also, throw in some plastic tweezers and a couple of plastic cups, spoons and a funnel and there you go!
Another great activity is slime mixing. Just like the sensory bins, you can change it up for different seasons and holidays.
For Halloween, add orange food coloring to the slime mix. Then let your child add things to the slime!
Beads, glitter, paper scatter, spiders etc. Anything orange, black, purple and green, and anything related to Halloween!
After they have added all they want, you can help them mix it up. They love to watch this! Just let them play in it and do whatever they’d like. My son loves the feel of it and he will stay entertained for a while.
Pumpkin Painting
The last activity I wanted to mention is pumpkin painting. My son loves it!
I help him with the brush but he really loves it when he sticks his hand in the paint! I love the look on his face when he paints his pumpkin with his hands! This is a great activity because it lets them see their own creativity and we get to display them on the front porch for everyone to see. He gets a kick out of it.
With all this being said, I just want to add that I am not a professional. My son is now nineteen years old so I have had plenty of experience as his mom! These ideas that I’ve listed are based on things that he likes. All children are different. Your child may not like some of the things that mine does. These are things that have worked for him that you could try. 🙂
Hopefully some of these ideas will work for your child too. Do you have any tips you would like to share? Leave them in the comments if you would, I’d love to hear from you!
In the meantime, check out my post on how to have a safe Halloween!
How to have a safe and fun Halloween – Thriftysnowflakemom
(Don’t eat too much candy!)
Until next time friends!
All my love,
Angela xoxo