I used to dread Halloween. Children coming to the door in costumes and masks would terrify and upset the boys. The prospect of taking them out trick or treating seemed infinitely worse.
Two years ago I decided I wanted to try and make it work. I bought costumes for the boys that I knew they would be comfortable in and they practiced wearing them for a few weeks beforehand. I got some books about Halloween and we would sing songs like “The Wheels on the Ghost Bus”. I wrote a short letter to my neighbours explaining how difficult Halloween was for the boys and that I would like to do a practice run. Nine of the houses on our street signed up and I left them with cookies to give to the boys. We practiced trick or treating a couple of days before the main event and it went well – by the end of the session the boys had got the hang of it. The night of October 31st there was a slight hitch – Grandma arrived with french fries for Owen so he filled up on them and had no interest whatsoever in going out for cookies. He played along with us though and overall I count it as a success.
Halloween 2010 – Owen is Mr. PotatoHead and Oliver is Thomas the Tank Engine
Last year the weather was horrible and we decided to stay in and hand out candy, but this year Oliver started to get excited about Halloween a couple of weeks ago. He loves chocolate and candy and had heard about this magical thing called ‘trick or treat’ which resulted in you being given buckets of the stuff. The past few days he’s been extremely hyped up at the prospect of trick or treating – staying in was not going to be an option.
So I again got the boys easy to wear costumes – a wizard cape and hat for Owen and a dragon cape with tail and hood for Oliver. He’s not really very excited about dragons so I sold it to him as a dinosaur costume. Lots of ‘ROARing’ ensued. We practiced the routine – holding up his bag, saying ‘trick or treat’, putting candy in his bag, saying ‘thank you’ then ‘Happy Halloween’. Oliver was all set.
Owen wasn’t ecstatic with his costume at first but he got used to the cape after a couple of times wearing it and as long as he was allowed to put his hat on himself he was fine. Now, how to prepare him for trick or treating…? Well, first we took some pictures:
You realize there’s nothing in here, right?
With the pictures, I put together a task list for his iPod Touch using the First Then Visual Schedule app from Good Karma Apps. I called the schedule “Trick or Treat” and made it as simple as possible. Just three steps: Trick or Treat, Thank You and Cookie. We practiced with it for a while and although I realized Owen had quickly caught on to what he had to do in order to get a cookie (hold his bag open and tap the first picture, tap the second picture when he received something and then tap on the third picture as he got a piece of cookie) – he was also tap-happy with the home button and having a look at what else he could find on his iPod Touch.
I decided to *gulp* upgrade to iOS 6 so I could use the Guided Access features to keep him in the First Then Visual Schedule app.
…I can see you’ve got cookies Mum!
The upgrade didn’t take long and I also worked out how to use the Guided Access feature surprisingly swiftly. I was a little worried that Owen might be cheesed off at not being able to exit the app but as he only uses his iPod Touch for communication anyway, he wasn’t bothered. Plus, when he did the right things he got a cookie. Sweet!
Owen had on his Gab n Go from Safe n Sound Mobile – the advantage of this is that his iPod Touch is right there in front of him whenever he needs it and it won’t get lost or dropped. He has a Griffin Survivor case on his iDevice (particularly welcome this evening as it was raining) and it works nicely with the Gab n Go.
Here’s the schedule I put together for him for trick or treat. As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward and he picked it up right away:
Step 1: Trick or Treat, Step 2: Thank you!
We used a stock image from within the app for Step 3: Cookie!
Here he is, practising feverishly before we go out:
He’s a wizard with any iDevice…
He’s even impressing his brother!
We went out and even though it was raining, both boys had fun. My pockets were stuffed with cookies so Owen was happy as a clam with trick or treating and he still collected candy – for his brother. Oliver was very appreciative – munching on a Caramilk when we got home he announced, “Mmmmm, that is some delicious candy.”
It turned out to be a delicious Halloween for all of us this year.
Excellent post! I also dreaded Halloween as a child but realize how important it is to simply fit in for my own child who has a terrible time with the itchy & uncomfortable costumes and feels awkward ‘pretending’ to be something he is not. This year I realized I had to plan early and bought my son a skeleton outfit that was really just clothes with glow in the dark bones printed on them. We ‘enhanced’ it with a mask he would only hold near his face (not actually wear) and a big skeleton hand that had a candy bad in the center. I have to say, it was the best Halloween ever for my SPD kiddo, simply because I went simple and planned early. I’m just grateful this is the only holiday he has issues with …
Thanks Carisa – it certainly looked from the pictures like your son had a good time.
Another wonderful blog. Thank you
Thanks Veronika
What a great story! You are a great author
So happy to hear how access to a child’s device makes communication easier and more important allows for a positive event for everyone! Good work Mom!
Thank you Kristen – I love seeing Owen happy and empowered, he really is a complete joy to be with.
Love it! Thanks for showing us how it’s done!
Thanks Melissa – I do try and break it down into steps for people – maybe it will inspire someone to give it a whirl. I’m so glad I did.
Wonderful story Deanne
Thank you! I’m so proud of both the boys.
This was a delightful story about making something that is a little abstract into something very practical. How do we explain to kids that we can only go to the of doors of strangers once a year for treats? I love that you worked on getting everything ready for the boys to both participate in this odd annual ritual.
It sounds like a great success.
Wish you could have seen it in person Jim.
Love the post. What you did to help your son experience the fun of the holiday was fantastic. Way to go! Halloween is a very difficult holiday for students on the autism spectrum. We have been reading a social story for a couple of weeks at school and then yesterday we had two of our student practice Trick or Treating in the school building. It was a success for them also.
Jean, I really take that as a huge compliment coming from you so thank you so much. I’m glad everything went well for you at school.
Beautiful! Love the stories of wonderful children and their wonderful moms!!
Thanks Viviana – kind of you to stop by and thank you for the comment.
What a wonderful post! You do so much for yours boys:))) We also had to “teach” Aaron about Halloween. It is so counter-intuitive when you think about it (e.g. I thought weren’t supposed to talk to strangers!). No wonder it’s so confusing for them
Thank you Colleen – It is counter-intuitive I think. Not just talk but we’re not supposed to accept things from strangers either. So yes, I think our kids must find it most odd, these rituals we put them through.
The boys look so adorable in their costumes, Deanne
You are a super mum! We definitely didn’t practice to the extent you did
So much thought put into it!
My daughter was not having using the Ipad for trick or treating. She insisted she would say it herself (‘ee’ ‘ee’) and wouldn’t do the signs either!! Her friend came with her and would say trick or treat super loud so most people didn’t notice she couldn’t say trick or treat. we only had one person have her try and say it properly so I intervened before she got upset.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!!