Providing a safe, inclusive, and accessible environment at Halloween for your friends and neighbors involves making simple sensory-friendly adjustments, offering non-food options, accommodating communication differences, and ensuring that physical, cognitive, or sensory barriers don’t limit the Halloween spirit.
And the best part is that all of this can be accomplished with very minor tweaks to Halloween traditions, allowing everyone to participate and enjoy. Here are just a few of those tweaks:
- Display a sign in your window or yard that indicates your house is welcoming and accessible.
- Avoid using strobe lights, loud surprise sounds, or highly triggering visuals. Instead, choose gentle lighting transitions and keep surprises to a minimum.
- Make sure the walkway to your door is level and free from obstructions. If your entryway includes steps or other barriers, set up your treat-station in an easier spot, like the driveway or front yard. Then, add soft lighting so visitors can safely navigate, spot any hazards, and pick up anything they may drop.
- Not all trick-or-treaters can have candy or other snacks due to food allergies or medical conditions. Have edible treats and non-food options available. Non-food options can include Halloween-themed stickers, pencils, crayons, or even glow-sticks (perfect for the occasion 🎃), all of which can be purchased at the local Dollar Tree or discount outlet. Placing a teal pumpkin at your door or treat station will signify that you have non-food options available.
- Be truly inclusive and ask ALL trick-or-treaters which they prefer - a non-food item or candy.
- If visually impaired or blind trick-or-treaters stop by,
- Introduce yourself.
- Ask if they want candy or a non-food option.
- Tell them what you have available so they can choose.
- Describe what you put into their bag or bucket. For example, Here’s the 3 Musketeers candy bar you asked for. Would you like me to hand it to you or put it in your bucket?
- Greet every visitor with Happy Halloween! and don’t rely on a verbal Trick or treat! before giving candy or a non-food treat. Some trick-or-treaters are non-verbal. If a child does not engage with you verbally, give them candy anyway. They could be deaf, apprehensive, or autistic. ~ Sheri Byrne-Haber
With just a few simple tweaks, you can make a big difference this Halloween. Swap flashing lights for gentle glows, keep the path to your treats clear and level, and offer a few non-candy goodies. These simple choices help every trick-or-treater feel welcome and included. Creating an accessible Halloween doesn’t take much, just a little care and thought. And that’s what truly makes the night fun for everyone.
Resources
- Teal Pumpkin Project
- Sheri Byrne-Haber - LinkedIn post
- Creating the world’s first accessible holiday tradition. - Treat Accessibly
- What do blue candy buckets on Halloween mean, and why are they controversial?
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