Tricks and Treats for those who don't (orally) eat!!

Shout out to all the parents out there staring at their children's wheelchairs thinking about the amount of work it is going to take to get out there and trick or treat with your kiddo (and whether or not you will even be able to get that chair to the door, let alone decorate it), to the parents of overstimulated children dreading the flashing lights and wild crazy decorations for kids to walk by, to the parents of non-verbal children who stare politely as the person at the door keeps asking them "what do you say?!" before handing over a treat, to the parents of the visually impaired navigating curbs, sidewalks and decorative pathways and other kids running across the path, I am here for you! While I know it takes a lot for any parent to take kids trick or treating, today I want to start the conversation for all those whose children have a disability.

I am going to start with a few tricks to help those with specially abled children, and I hope others will come along and share theirs as well.

Then below that I have been asked lately what would make some fun, affordable options for "treats" to hand out at Halloween for those like my son who can not have anything oral to eat. Check out a sampling of what we gathered for our local children's centre trunk or treat, with the generous support and contributions from the following individuals: @Melody-Rose Schulenberg, @CreativeMom Canada, @Sonja Hinksman, @RoseMarie Laurin, @Melissa Nichesskey, @Rebecca Alfieri and @Uzma Sk and her daughter. I am so grateful for helping me gather over 1000 treats for the trick or treats - more to follow after the event on Saturday!!

TRICKS for helping children with disabilities this Halloween......

* Make sure pathways to doors are free of debris

* Remember that even a half inch step is a huge step for someone pushing a wheelchair. If you don't want to come down the steps, then consider doing something accessible - like having a table set up in your driveway, or an amazing idea I saw last year was create a spider web out of string and hang the treats in bags from there with clothes pegs. LOVE IT!!

* Please don't judge a child by their size - whether they are small or really large, never assume that what you see visually is where they are intellectually or emotionally. Please, Please, Please be kind.

* Please make candy easy to grab if you are expecting kids to take it themselves. We all know Covid is on the back of everyone's minds still, so if you want to keep a bit of distance, no problem, but then perhaps make sure you have a tray with a few spread out candies that can make it easier for some to pick up.

* I am sure this is a common one, but just in case it isn't, we always find it helpful to give our kids smaller containers that are easier to put something into, while the adult with them carries a pillow case or larger bag that they can keep dumping into. That open rim of the bucket can take away some of the stress of trying to open and close a bag

*One trick I just learned is to take a big mac, or a recordable audio button and when I take my child to the door, I am going to just turn it on for him if he doesn't have the capacity to do it at any point.

*Mindful too of older siblings who may want not want to slow down for their brother or sister, and/or may not be wanting to explain about their sibling, if possible I also try to divide and conquer. I ask the siblings to come when it is still a little light out so we can see steps easily with their little brother to take him to people's houses, and then when it gets dark, we will then take our son in his wheelchair home so he can rest and hand out candy or sleep instead.

TREATS not to eat (but to play!!!)

There are so many great options out there and these are just a few I found at our local dollar stores, grocery stores, and an incredible donation from @CreativeMom Canada of her very own INCLUSION STICKERS - all these can be found on etsy.com and is a variety of characters with unique things such as feeding tube, trach, ostomy, scars etc.

More stickers here, pencils, and stamps. Markers are always fun but we do try to buy washable just so parents don't come and haunt us after!!!

A party favour is a little on the more expensive side as they work out to a dollar a piece, but such fun for kids to break open and for some they would just play with them like this for a long time.

Lights, Lights, Lights - especially ones that already come with the battery. Now of note though, I would avoid the strobing, flashing light on the right because it can have a negative effect on some of our kiddos.

More lights and these are particularly fun for kids with wheelchairs, walkers or iv poles. It is always nice to dress those devices up with the string lights. (again nicer too if you make sure it has the batteries with it!)

How fun are these?! Safari Animals are always an adventure and a nice size too for little hands to grab. I like to mention these too as it does not have to be "HALLOWEEN" specific. Think party favours, and small little toys - why not collect the McDonalds kids meals toys throughout the year and hand those out?

Several things here pop out right away (and we pretty much bought some of all of these). The slap bracelets are fun and they have a neat ruler on the back (again they can go on the handles of walkers and wheelchairs), the ink stamps are great, the squishy animals are textured and brightly coloured and the bubbles - well do we even need to say how much fun bubbles are?!

For some of the kiddos who can not really hold on to smaller things, these squish balls are actually really soft and easy to hold.

Anything light up - and for those being cost effective glow bracelets are fun to hand out. They can be wrapped on wheelchair handles, walker handles, on kids bracelets, and also on bags to help them be more noticeable when they are out walking.

I wanted to draw particular attention to these markers because not only are they washable, but the pompom attached to the end is a great sensory thing for kids as well.

The stickers below are from both local dollar stores, the halloween notebooks can also be found at either. The squishy toys, the pens with the head and sensory hair, the sunglasses, the motivation notebooks, the funky coloured slap bracelets, and the slinkies were all found on amazon.

So what do you think? Do you have a tip or trick for those who are allying and helping out families with disabilities, or are a family with disabilities who would love to give some suggestions? Would love to hear what you have to say!! Happy Halloween to one and all.