Join us in the month of October as we discuss ways to make Halloween an enjoyable experience for all!

One of the most exciting things about Halloween is dressing up! You can be a superhero, a cartoon or movie character, something make-believe, something spooky, or just look different altogether! But for individuals with disabilities, some costumes may not elicit much excitement. 

Sometimes a typical costume may not work. If your child uses a wheelchair, has sensory issues, or uses a catheter or incontinence products, costumes that are comfortable may be hard to find. So what can you do? Below are some ideas for how to dress up for Halloween:

• Create Your Own Costume: Certain fabrics can be triggering for those with sensory issues, and material can obstruct wheelchair movement. To avoid the discomfort this brings, flex your creative muscles! Or if you don’t have those specific muscles, recruit the help of someone who does! 
• Start by finding soft fabrics without tags to comfortably fit. For some, it can be as simple as pulling the tag out of a ready-made costume. But for others, consider homemade costumes made with soft fabrics like silk, cotton, velvet or cashmere
• Pay close attention to details such as making sure the costume doesn’t have tricky fasteners. Use velcro instead. Another detail–Costumes shouldn’t be too bulky. Bulky material can make things hot and/or heavy.
• Pants with a drawstring are better than pants with a single button because the material doesn’t create pressure at one point.
• Make sure the costume is comfortable for walking, bending and sitting.
• Custom Costume Ideas:
• Wheelchair-Friendly Costume Ideas: Tonka truck, Police man, Pirate Ships
• Sensory-Friendly Costume Ideas: Clothes in Halloween colors with soft leggings, Halloween pajamas, Halloween t-shirts, face paint instead of a mask
• Incontinence-Friendly Costume Ideas: High-rise leggings, loose-fitting pants to hang catheters.
• Click this link for more ideas from Good Housekeeping
  
  
• Buy an Adaptive Costume: Yes! You read that right. There are adaptive costumes available for purchase at retailers like Target, Party City and Disney. It’s encouraging to see large companies considering all kids in their Halloween costume designs. Inclusivity can be fun!
• Target has a line of adaptive Halloween costumes for toddlers, kids and adults. Their costumes are categorized by ease of dress, hidden opening for abdominal access, high rise for diaper coverage, sensory friendly, and wheelchair friendly. Kids can dress up as Queen Elsa, a firefighter, or cover their wheelchair to be a Ninja Turtle, and adults can dress up as a unicorn.
• Party City’s costumes are designed with a front flap opening for tube access, roomier legs and longer length for seated wear, an opening at rear for wheelchair-friendly wear and hook-and-loop closures at wrists and ankles. Also available are wheelchair covers that allow you to transform your child’s wheelchair into a car. 
• Disney offers “adaptive, sensory-friendly costumes, as well as wheelchair covers and wraps inspired by favorites from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars’. Disney’s costumes can make Ariel, Darth Vader, Cinderella and her coach (and more) a part of your family.
• Click below for more adaptive Halloween costumes: 
• Chasing Fireflies
• Rolling Buddies

The number one priority should be comfort. Plan their costume (and your Halloween) with comfort in mind. If they’re not comfortable, they won’t have fun. And Halloween should be fun!

Photo: “Trick or treaters sitting on a curb” by FatCamera