Halloween is next month, and it has always been (by far) my favorite holiday. There have been a few different phases thus far:

• Growing Up: Get dressed up and Trick-or-Treat along with every other kid in the neighborhood.
• Adulthood (Pre-Lila): Get dressed up and go OUT! ß I miss this one, I can’t lie!
• Adulthood (Post-Lila): Still trying to figure it out.

See …we all have these preconceived ideas about the holidays and what they are “supposed” to look like. I know what Halloween consists of in regard to neuro-typical children, but a LOT of the components of this holiday: wearing a costume, going to the pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, and eating candy are either a.) difficult for Lila, or b.) of zero interest to her.

So with Halloween (not unlike other holidays), we are trying to follow Lila’s lead – and find a NEW way for our family to celebrate and find out what works for us. So for this year I’m considering the following:

• Halloween-Themed Toys
• Halloween Sensory Bin
• Halloween-Themed Cartoons
• Trip to Pumpkin Patch/Farm in a cute Halloween shirt (if – and that’s a BIG if – she is OK with being outside at that point).

There are also Halloween parades and local carnivals, but I think those would be dicey depending on the number of people in attendance and noise level (and the fact that they’re outside could be an additional hurdle as well).

Regardless of what we choose, we will make sure it is fun for Lila, and as always – done with lots of love.

I hope that each of you  – no matter how you and your beautiful families choose to celebrate  – all have a very Happy Halloween as well!