Something amazing happen. My son picked out his halloween costume this year :). This is a big deal in this household. You see, my son is speech & language delay. How we communicate usually involves giving him choices & prompting. A lot of repeating of the question, and also asking the same questions in different ways to get a response. Compared to when he was a kindergartener, he has definitely come a long way.
Asking My Hyperlexic Autistic What He Wants To Be
So when I asked him this year “What would you like to be on halloween this year?” He RESPONDED. TO MY FACE. He wants to be a letter of the ALPHABET. I was shocked, happy, and then reality hit me because that means I actually have to make his costume this year. How can I not celebrate his milestone by not making his what he wants to be? In the past, he has never responded, but was always excited with every costume I have purchased for him. Every year since he was born I’ve always picked out just typical kids stuff that’s star wars, dc stuff, marvel or something that makes him look extra adorable as a kid.
Crafting Is Not My Specialty
This year I’m spending hours winging the crafting of his favorite letter. I’m not a crafty mom. I wasn’t even into crafting as a kid. I’m currently still trying to piece together his costume, and its not pretty. Though baby hulk is seeing the progress, and is getting excited. I’m just glad realization hasn’t set in for him that this costume kind of sucks. He will be wearing it in school during the halloween/fall related festivals. With his classmates. Who are just like him except some of them have some mild, aggressive behaviors. It has to be sturdy, and easy for him to remove.
Celebrating This Milestone
I’m just so happy. My son communicated with me that just seems out of the ordinary for him. I know in his case his speech will improve through time and therapy. When he shows progress that are typical it makes me relieve for a number of reasons. For one, I’m not with him at school and he’s learning on his own speed how to navigate mainstream school life. Another reason is it’s better for both of us to really start breaking that codependency we have as a parent-parent’s child in his stage in life. I know that’s not possible for every autistic person but I’m trying as a parent to prepare him for life the best that I can with what I have/can give.
Preparing For Trick Or Treating
Halloween is not Baby Hulk’s favorite. He likes some aspect of halloween like the candy, some decorations, and seeing other kids dress up in friendly costumes. Though it brings out some anxiety inducing sensory issues he has. For example it was only last year he was able to actually go to the door and say “trick or treat”. He is also deathly afraid of the blow up decorations.
The noise of the machines just sets him off to eventually shutting down and cowering to me. He did much better last year. Is he still afraid of the blow ups? Kind of. He has gotten better not to flee from them anymore. Yet, now even though his school has warmed him to halloween much better than I could for holidays, I still have to prep him. Here is what we do to prep our Autistic Child:
- Go for nightly walks before a week before Halloween to see decorations
This will get him use to the blow up decorations, and lets him know what to expect.
2. Get a feel for a route that he seems to like.
We pick a route based on distance, decorations he doesn’t mind, and has easy to see side walks. This is because some neighbors really go all out of halloween for the older kids. We stick to young kid friendly decors.
3. Wave “Hi” instead of saying “trick or treat”
For years my son didn’t want to say trick or treat. Though last year he was saying it just fine. In the past we just tell him to wave hi to our neighbors. Since baby hulk is young most neighbors don’t expect him to.
4. Take breaks after half hour
We stick close to our home if I don’t want to bring a stroller. It’s also a great way for him to recharge. I know it’s exhausting for him to be around blow ups. Plus, some people have blow up costumes, and the stress of seeing, and being around them for some time can be tiring. Ask again if he would like to trick or treat
Surprisingly he always likes to go again. I think he just enjoys getting his bucket filled with candy. Plus he likes some decorations that are not blow ups.
If you’re a special needs parent what do you do to prepare for halloween?
