Trick or Treating Tips for Sensory Kids

This cowboy hat lasted 10 minutes

“I want to be a raptor!” These were the words that started the Halloween anxiety for me this year. Like every sensory processing disorder family- every holiday is tough to navigate.

Halloween just adds an extra level of stress because of costumes. SPD kids are VERY sensitive about what they wear, and sometimes they have big dreams for what they want to be, but their costume only lasts about one minute on Halloween.

My son hates masks. He went as Hulk one year and after ten minutes became Bruce Banner in the process of changing into the Hulk, with a Hulk body and a regular human head.
So this year when he wanted to be “Blue,” the raptor from Jurassic World, I groaned inwardly.

We had seen the raptor masks at Comic Fest and on Youtube. They make real screeching velociraptor sounds! They also weigh, a lot. I knew we would probably end up with a half human/half raptor hybrid on Halloween, and that’s okay.

But then when we were in Target – we saw it. A “Blue” onsie pajama with a hood. And that hood was a raptor head, teeth included. “Momma? Can you wear pajamas as a Halloween costume?”

Heck yes you can!

And now my son can be what he wants and be comfortable, which is a rare treat.
I know a lot of other SPD families will be hitting the streets for some trick-or-treating this week, so I thought I would share a few tips on making it as easy on your kiddo as possible.

Hooded onsies are our friends.

1. Try on your costume ahead of time and have a backup. You don’t want to wait until the day of Halloween to find out a costume is too itchy, or too loose, or too tight, or whatever their sensory issue is with it. We usually spend a couple of hours in costume the weekend before to get comfortable in it and make any changes if needed. Also, on the day of they may decide they don’t like wearing it, so we have back up options available.  With the amount of cute hooded onsie pajamas and hooded sweatshirts on hand, I have plenty of alternatives that could pass as costumes but not bother people who are judgmental toward kids not in costume and are completely oblivious to special needs. (That’s a whole different rant)
2. You don’t need to coordinate their costume all the way down to their shoes and socks – let them war their comfy favorites. They will walk much farther if you do. 
3. Bring a back up adult. I know this one is tough on single parents. My husband worked the night shift for several years and I’ve done a lot of solo Halloweens. But I always have asked a family member or close friend (who is not there with their own kids), to come with if possible in case my sensory guy needs a break or more time between houses. That way his siblings can still trick or treat without having to stop. 
4. Pack a flashlight and noise cancelling headphones. Dark spaces and loud noises – oh my! It’s best to have the tools to combat those situations on hand. I also usually bring his favorite stuffy or sweatshirt as a comfort item if needed. 
5. Have a game plan. We don’t just walk around willy-nilly. I lay out exactly what streets we are going down. If we are feeling good and can do more, great, but if we need to stop, it doesn’t feel like a failure if we’ve hit our plan. 
6. Bring a back up candy carrier. One year the handle on the pumpkin bucket dug into my son’s skin uncomfortably. Another year, he was flinging it around while sensory seeking and it broke. I usually keep a couple of plastic bags in my purse, just in case. 
7. There will be candy they don’t like – so you need to warn them of that ahead of time, so you can prevent comments of disgust to the nice people handing it out! He is old enough now that he knows that he can trade or give away, but it was a little dicey at the beginning. Sensory kiddos are so finicky sometimes, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to Halloween candy. 

I’m sure there are plenty more tips, but these are just a few based on what we’ve experienced. In our world, talking about what to expect as much as possible with our son before going trick-or-treating makes all the difference.

Have a fun and happy Halloween!