Halloween can conjure some scary thoughts for nearly everyone. But for those parenting children with sensory issues the holiday delivers a whole new level of scary thoughts: the Halloween meltdowns.
While many children love the thought of jumping in a costume and going door to door to collect candy; the costumes, new places and unfamiliar people create the perfect meltdown recipe for those with sensory issues.
We certainly had our share of failed attempts with Brantley. However, as he has gotten older, Brantley has been more interested in trick-or-treat. He seems willing to work through the sensory issues knowing that the big bucket of candy will be all his in the end. Maybe all that “first ____, then _____” in his Applied Behavior Analysis therapy is paying off.
This year, Brantley was excited to be a police officer just like his brother. We practiced wearing his costume, we talked about what would happen and we prayed he would make it through.
Brantley struggled to wear his hat, but he successfully wore the rest of his costume all night. He used his speech device to tell each house “trick or treat”. And he flashed the biggest smile showing off a slightly crooked loose front tooth, when he saw the candy overflowing from his pumpkin bucket.
Brantley has came along way from the days of laying down in his fireman pajamas screaming at the top of those little lungs during trick-or-treat. I don’t know if it is the preparations or him getting older, but I will take it with pride in my boy.
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