By Tiffany Shedd

I love Halloween. My son is turning three soon, and he’s excited about being a Minion. Luckily, his epilepsy isn’t triggered by flashing lights or external stimuli, so we can enjoy many different types of Halloween and fall festival activities.

Halloween is usually a fun time for most kids. But if your child is on the spectrum or has other special needs, it may not be a fun experience for many reasons.

I am so lucky to have a local group of mommies who are sensitive to the needs of all of the kids in our mom’s group, and that includes kids on the spectrum, kids with severe allergies and kids with other special needs.

We put together our own Trunk or Treat the weekend before Halloween during the day. We encourage the kids to dress up in non-scary outfits. We have a large range of ages in our group, so scary costumes aren’t always age appropriate, and they may be upsetting to some of our special needs members.

Parents are also encouraged to decorate their cars as well. We had lots of fun themes last year, one family dressed up as The Avengers and their car was decorated with all sorts of Avengers things. Another precaution we take is asking parents to provide candy that is nut free. I even got candy that was dairy free last year, because one of the little girls couldn’t have dairy.

This year, I have stickers and erasers that I will be giving out along with my candy. This is a fun way for kids who might not be able to participate in traditional trick or treating to join in the festivities. And, it is an easy event to plan. Gather your mom’s group, church group, military spouse club group and make a plan. It’s minimal set up and cost, and, the kids love it.

I am also thankful for activities in my community. Our installation’s health clinic put on an amazing event last year for all the kids. It wasn’t specifically billed as an event for kids with special needs, but they did take some extra precautions to make sure that all the kids enjoyed themselves. They kept the scary stuff separated from the other things, lights were kept on and no loud music was allowed. The kids got to play games, have snacks, and even make a craft.

If you aren’t a part of an EFMP support group on your installation or in your community, look to the library for ideas about where to find other Fall and Halloween activities. Our local library has started having several themed sensory story times a month. In October they will be reading about Fall and Halloween. It doesn’t matter if your kids won’t sit still and listen to the story, this story time is specifically designed for those kids who may not be able to do that for thirty minutes and that’s ok. No one is going to mind your kid being loud or interrupting the story.

AMC and Regal Theaters are both continuing their Sensory Showtime programs into the fall. These showtimes are for families who don’t feel like they can take their kids or family members to regular movie showings. Both theaters play the movie with the lights on and with the volume reduced. And if your kid or family member needs to get up and dance, sing or holler during the showing, everyone there is going to understand. There will be no shushing there.

If outings are just too much, then check out Pinterest. There are tons of neat ideas for crafts and treats that will make any child happy. If your kid is into art, create a sticky wall where they can put fall shapes on a piece of contact paper you’ve stuck to the wall. Draw a pumpkin on the contact paper, and they can create their own Jack-o-lanterns. Picking out your own real pumpkins and decorating them is also a fun activity for the family. You don’t have to carve them, you can paint them instead (they actually last a lot longer than carved pumpkins).

Letting our kids feel included is so important, so coming up with ways to let them experience some of the Halloween season activities is equally important. Figure out what your child or family member might like about the season and do that. Create your own traditions, and you will always have something fun to do even if it may not be what everyone else is doing.