Happy (Inclusive) Halloween

Halloween is my 5 year old’s favorite holiday! She can’t get enough of “The Great Pumpkin” and requests to visit the pumpkin patch daily. While she loves Halloween, I have a love/hate relationship with it. No, I’m not a Halloween hater- don’t get me wrong- I love it too! But, Halloween is not the most inclusive of holidays.

Example: Trick-or-treating. Seems simple, right? Walk up to a house, ring the doorbell, say “Trick or Treat” and “Thank you!” Get candy. Bam! Easy! But what happens when you have a kid who uses a walker or wheelchair and has a speech delay? All of a sudden, it’s not so simple.

inclusive costume Memphis Moms Blog — Cinderella and her carriage

I’m not saying it’s not doable. Because honestly, we can make pretty much anything happen for our daughter. It takes a lot more effort, but we make it happen!

Here are five things we’ve done the past to make Halloween more inclusive:

1) Attended a church Trunk or Treat. These are much more accessible, as parking lots are generally flat and easily to roll on.

2) Trick-or-treated at a retirement home. Retirement homes are accessible and {Bonus} older people love seeing kids!

3) Used trick or treating as practice for Speech therapy. We practiced for several weeks ahead of time saying, “Trick or Treat” and “Thank you” appropriately.

4) Handed cute note to neighbors asking them to come down the stairs to see her costume, since she could not go to meet them at their door. Most neighbors were thrilled to greet her on the sidewalk instead!

5) Incorporated her wheelchair into her costume! Wheelchairs costumes are so much fun and really competitive. Olivia loves having her chair as part of her costume! She’s been Cinderella with her carriage and Vanna White and the wheel!