Hello again!
Hope you all enjoyed last week’s Halloween Tips: Part 1! Here are a a few more tips to help your whole family enjoy Halloween!
Tip #4: Carve a Pumpkin
Cut open the top and dig in! The inside “brains” of the pumpkin are the ultimate sensory experience! Try making it fun by secretly hiding fun treasures inside the goop, such as spider rings, mini plastic Slinkys or small bouncing balls, and helping your special needs child dig them out with their hands.
It’s okay if they don’t like the feel. This is all about sensory tolerance of touching sticky, icky things. Have a new pair of rubber cleaning gloves and kitchen tongs on hand but don’t allow access to them until your child has touched the gooey goods for one minute or longer!
Got a child that needs more concrete purpose to their task? Sort out the pumpkin seeds, wash them, dry them, salt them or sweeten them, then bake! This is a great way to incorporate following a schedule or task list! Add a handful of baked pumpkin seeds to a ziplock baggie along with a handful of Chex Mix cereal, chocolate chips and dried cherries and you got a real yummy reinforcer on your hands … or should I say in your tummies? ☺
Tip #5: Generalize
If you do not already get a weekly review of what’s to come for your child at school the following week, specifically request to know of all Halloween based school activities and mimic them at home. Feeling creative? The internet has a wealth of Halloween activities and arts and crafts. Just check out our Pinterest page! Create a home lesson to follow through at home to expand on school activities.
As always, have fun and be safe! Halloween is also an excellent time for you, your family and all of your child’s teams to work to together to enjoy the big night! Remember to evaluate safety skills with your child and practice personal information, good walking skills and attending skills prior to Trick-or-Treating! It’s always better to be safe than sorry and you never know how one might respond in the midst of the event … practice makes perfect!
Happy Halloween everyone!
-Michelle O’Neill, AHSS Lead Care Team Member and Mother of a Special Needs Child PLUS Two!
How do you help your child prepare for Halloween? Share in the comments below!
