Halloween is just about a week away and I can feel the excitement brewing with all the kids that I work with. It’s always fun to see them get all excited when they see decorations hanging up in the gym that I work and love their enthusiasm about making crafts to decorate our windows and walls with. As exciting as Halloween is, there are children out there that this day can be really hard for them. Kids who have sensory processing difficulties or language delays or have social emotional challenges can be excited about Halloween but also feel nervous about it at the same time. As parents, we want all of our kids to be able to experience all the special childhood moments like Trick or Treating, going to Halloween parties and dressing up with their friends but for some kids, we have to make some adjustments in order for them to be successful. Below, you will find some tricks and tips to help your kids have a memorable Halloween.
- Costumes-Be sure to have your child try on their costumes well before going to a Halloween party or going out trick-or-treating. Many of the kids I work with can be quite sensitive to the way things clothes and textures feel. Your child might be completely set on being their favorite character but the costume could be itchy, make them feel hot or physically uncomfortable and the last thing you want to be doing is dealing with a meltdown on the day of. It might be a good idea to have a backup costume because we know that kids who are sensory sensitive can be unpredictable.
- Test Run Trick or Treating-If you have a child who is shy or uncomfortable around new people, have them practice trick-or-treating with people that they are comfortable with. It might also make sense to make a plan on the best houses/apartments for your child to go trick-or-treating that are familiar and feel safe to your child. It’s also important to keep in mind that for some kids, less is better so maybe you decide on a number of houses to go to so your child knows exactly what to expect. If you have a child who is non-verbal or has significant language delays, you might have a little sign on their bucket that says “Trick or Treat! I am learning how to speak! Thank you!.” By doing this, you are letting people know that you do not have a rude child and that you are working on things.
- Pumpkin Carving-Carving pumpkins can be so much fun but if you have a kid with fine motor delays or sensory issues, this could be really hard for them. Some kids don’t like touching squishy, messy things so imagine what they. must think when they are asked to clean out the inside of a pumpkin! If you have a child with sensory issues, provide different ways to decorate pumpkins. For some kids, it might mean letting them paint a pumpkin or decorate it with stickers. Check out this link for more ideas on how to decorate pumpkins.
- Allergies-Halloween can be tricky for kids who have food allergies. They want to go trick-or-treating and do all the fun things but it can be really disappointing when they get a bunch of candy that they can’t eat. While a lot of people have started offering more non-food options, kids are really in it for the candy. Before you go out with your kids, come up with a plan about what you will do with the candy that they can’t eat. You can have a stash of candy at home that is safe for them or you can have a special toy or book waiting for them that they have been wanting that they can exchange their unsafe candy for.
- Sensory Difficulties-If you have a child with sensory sensitivities, Halloween parties could be really overwhelming. Sometimes it is okay to just skip these parties but there are times when you have to go so it’s best to have a plan in place for your child. Some things that you can do are bring a bag of activities to keep your child entertained if they become overwhelmed or need a brief break. You may also ask the host of the party if there is a quiet space you and your child could escape to
- Avoiding Sensory Overload-If you have a child who is prone to sensory overload and meltdowns, be sure to go out prepared with things that you know work to help calm and regulate your child. For example, if you know that your child has a hard time with loud and unexpected sounds and you are entering a more crowded and louder area, you might want to have a set of noise cancelling headphones for them to put on and a stroller for younger children for them to climb into and “escape”. For older children, you might find a quiet space to sit (again with headphones) with a book or fidget toys while the other children trick-or-treat. Another thing to do is carry around extra toys or goodies to give your child if they end up at a house that doesn’t have something appropriate for them to take as a treat. Be clear with your child that there might be houses that will give them candy they don’t like or aren’t allowed to have and if that happens, they have a special bag of goodies to choose from.
- Set Expectations-Halloween is a lot of fun but it also can be very unpredictable and unexpected things can come out of nowhere. The most important thing you can do is talk about your plans for Halloween parties and trick-or-treating with your sensory sensitive child and discuss some of the things you remember about Halloweens in the past and some of the unexpected things you saw or pivots you had to make. When children, especially those with sensory difficulties, know what to expect and also know that there is a plan in place if things begin to become overwhelming, they do much better during times that are not necessarily predictable.
One of the growing trends is that houses not only offer kids candy, but have non-candy options as well for those trick-or-treaters with food allergies or kids who just don’t like candy. I know that a lot of classrooms still have Halloween celebrations but are encouraging parents to send in non-food items so some of these could be great ideas for handing out to friends in school. Here are some of my favorite non-food options for handing out this Halloween:
1. Halloween Sticker Make A Face Sheets-this se comes with 36 sheets of Halloween theme party supplies mix and match decoration stickers with 9 designs. This pack includes vampires, witches, Frankenstein, ghosts, werewolves, bats, the Reaper, cats,and jack-o-lanterns. Each sheet of stickers has one of the aforementioned and has 3 different sets of eyes, mouths, eyes and eyebrows so your child can be as creative as they want while making their creation. These are great for working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages bilateral coordination skills and also encourages creativity.
2. Halloween Windup Toys-this 24 piece set of Halloween themed windup toys will be sure to delight your trick-or-treaters and are great for working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination skills. You can make this a social thing and have kids have their toys race each other. If you want to get really ambitious, you can get some chalk and draw some roads for the windup toys to race on.
3. Halloween LED Pop-Tubes-poptubes in general are one of my favorite therapeutic staples and the kids love them. This set of 24 pop tubes comes in a variety of colors and light up making them great for a non-candy option. Kids can wear them as necklaces or bracelets which makes them easy to keep track of if they are in a crowd of people. Pop tubes are great for encouraging bilateral coordination skills, improves hand-eye coordination and works on building grasp and upper body strength.
4. Fidget Spinner LED Bracelets-you can’t really go wrong with fidget spinners and the best part about this one is that it doubles as a bracelet so you don’t have to worry about your child losing them. For younger children, you could attach to their stroller handle so they can play with it that way. These are really great for children who have sensory issues and may need a distraction or may need something to help avoid a meltdown.
5. Mini Halloween Coloring and Activity Books-this is another great alternative to food/candy treats. This set of 32 books comes with a variety of coloring and activity books such as find the difference, alphabet games and so much more. They are small and durable can keeps occupied if they need a little break from all of the festivities.
6. Halloween Zipper Bracelets-I am obsessed with these zipper bracelets! Not only are they super cute, they double as a sensory fidget toy for kids. They are also great for sneaking in fine motor, grasping and self-care skills practice. One of the nice things about these is that they can connect to each other so kids can play with them and keep themselves distracted when they might be starting to get overwhelmed.
