AAARRRRGGGHHH!!! Halloween costume time…AGAIN? Every year it is a struggle to either come up with a costume, or for our sensory defensive kids, to find one that they will even wear. This year I got to thinking about some of my friends who struggle with the task of trying to outfit their child with autism for Halloween. Heck, I have friends who struggle to find socks that their kid will tolerate, and we all know how uncomfortable and scratchy those cheap store bought costumes are. So what is a parent to do?
Thankfully we live in the world where Google is at the ready for times like these. This site gives very clear, easy steps to making a sensory friendly costume for your little one. Click here to read How To Create A Sensory Friendly Halloween Costume.
When my son was tiny, before our autism diagnosis, we came up with a great sensory friendly idea. Now admittedly, he does not have trouble with clothing or hats or costumes for that matter, but I just didn’t find any costumes that I liked for him either. We were wrestling with him being either Harold of the famous story with the Purple Crayon (blue footie pjs and a purple piece of sidewalk chalk…does it get easier than that?) or Charlie Brown. He had NO hair when he was little so either one of these was perfect for him. I found a soft bright yellow shirt at Baby Gap, and we already had a pair of black sweatpants. A few snips and a hem on the pants and a black zig zag stripe sewn around the middle and voila! Charlie Brown is born. Easy, cheap and very comfortable for him.
Now in years that followed, I made a nightmare of a costume for him when his brother wanted to be Curious George. I dusted off all my home economics skills from high school and hand sewed a Man in the Yellow Hat costume for him. I even made the hat. It was hilarious. This thing was skin tight, had way too many pieces to it and a crazy homemade hat that probably itched like mad, but he loved it and wore it all night. He looked more like Snoop Dog as Huggy Bear than the beloved Man in the Yellow Hat, but what do you want from a girl that doesn’t sew?
But let’s get back to the point of all this. Here is the most important piece of Halloween ‘Autism’ Advice: Throw all the rules out the window. Do whatever makes your child happy. If he or she doesn’t want to dress up…so what? One year we made it to one house before the costume came off. Another year it was raining, our son was Yoda and he made it to two houses before he ditched the mask. He ended up looking like a wet Moses instead, and that was fine with us and him. Halloween is for the kids and you should celebrate in whatever way makes your child happy. Let them pass out the treats if trick or treating is too much. If that is too much, turn off the lights and have a special snack and watch The Great Pumpkin. Or just watch Nemo for the 1 millionth time. There is always next year to give it a go.
In the scheme of things, it is just another day so make it a day that is as easy as possible on you and them. And if you do make it out this year…Happy Haunting!
~ Sunshine
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