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Making Halloween Accessible for all Children

OCTOBER 14, 2025

Spooky season is here as we get ready for Halloween! Halloween can be an exciting time for both adults and children—deciding what costume to wear, walking around the neighbourhood with friends, and counting all the candy from the night.

While it’s easy to get lost in the fun to be had, we often forget how it can also be a time of unpredictability for individuals with disabilities like autism or different sensory and mobility needs.

To help make sure Halloween is enjoyable for all, we spoke with Amy, an Occupational Therapist at Surrey Place, and a mom whose goal is to make Halloween accessible and fun for her child. Here are her 5 tips on how you can make the holiday more accessible:

1. Look for accessible costumes

Halloween is one of the few times you can dress up (or down!) as expressively as you want! There are a ton of costumes, fabrics, and accessories to choose from. As a caregiver to a child with disabilities like autism, how can you ensure you’re balancing creativity and accessibility? The most important thing to remember is adapting your child’s costume to suit their needs.

Consider:

  • Comfortable, sensory-friendly fabrics for your child’s costumes. Avoid restricting or itchy materials.
  • Use clothing items and fabrics your child is familiar with.
  • Adapt costumes for mobility devices (wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics).
  • Inclusivity in your costume of choice by considering someone’s lived experience.

2. Making your environment accessible

For those with different mobility or sensory needs, Halloween can pose some potential stressors for activities like trick-or-treating. As you set up your house for visits throughout the day, consider how others will interact with your environment by minimizing barriers.

  • Make sure paths are well-lit.
  • Set up a candy table at the end of driveways to avoid stairs or long pathways.
  • Create a welcoming environment, minimal loud noises, calm lights etc.
  • Try trick-or-treating in the afternoon to better suit your child’s needs

3. Provide multiple options to suit everyone

Halloween is the day to splurge on sweet treats for adults and children alike! With a few thoughtful choices, you can create a safe space for children with allergies or dietary restrictions. Small adjustments can help to make sure that everyone can be involved in the fun, like keeping allergy-friendly items in a separate bowl or even offering non-food treats (like stickers, glow-sticks or tattoos).

Amy believes the key to creating a fun Halloween is to focus on what works best for your child and your family. Fun isn’t fun if there are barriers to participation. Considering different ways to be inclusive ensures that everyone can participate in the way that suits them best.

“Accessibility can benefit multiple members of your community, access supports our clients, children and even their parents.” – Amy Tran, Occupational Therapist

4. Creating sensory-safe spaces

Whether at school, in stores, or in the neighbourhood, Halloween decorations will be everywhere. From ghost sounds, skeleton displays, to spider web lights, it can feel like sensory overload. By making small adjustments to your celebrations, you can help create a more inclusive and enjoyable experience for everyone. Consider:

  • Quiet zones or sensory breaks during community events.
  • Avoid jump scares, strobe lights, or loud sound effects where possible.
  • Use visual supports (pictures, digital examples) to help children prepare for trick-ortreating.
  • Finding a quieter neighbourhood or one that includes less walking to trick-or-treat in

5. Leaning on those around you

Halloween is meant to be enjoyed with others, no matter what you do. This can look different for everyone, and creating a welcoming and inclusive Halloween experience for your child starts with building strong connections in your community. By engaging with neighbours and organizing accessible events, you can help foster an environment where your child feels safe, supported, and celebrated.

  • Organize accessible community events to create an environment where your child can thrive.
  • Consider letting others know your house is accessible with a printed sign from TreatAccessibility and learn other ways to showcase accessibility.
  • Look into local centres that host sensory-friendly Halloween events.

Halloween doesn’t have to look or be done in one way! Consider what your child enjoys so you can help them take part in the fun in their own way. Whether they want to dress up or just get a few treats, lean into the piece that excites them to not overwhelm the process.

With these considerations, Halloween can be a more seamless and enjoyable experience for children and their caregivers. Not everyone’s experiences will look the same, but we can try to make sure each experience is positive.

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By 2 months

Has your baby had their hearing screened? YES NO

By 6 months

Does the child?

Startle in response to loud noises? YES NO
Turn to where a sound is coming from? YES NO
Make different cries for different needs (hungry, tired)? YES NO
Watch your face as you talk? YES NO
Smile/laugh in response to your smiles and laughs? YES NO
Imitate coughs or other sounds such as ah, eh, buh YES NO

By 9 months

Does the child?

Respond to their name? YES NO
Respond to the telephone ringing or a knock at the door? YES NO
Understand being told no? YES NO
Get what they want through using gestures (reaching to be picked up)? YES NO
Play social games with you (Peek-a-Boo)? YES NO
Enjoy being around people? YES NO
Babble and repeat sounds such as babababa or duhduhduh? YES NO

By 12 months

Does the child?

Follow simple one-step directions (sit down)? YES NO
Look across the room to a toy when adult points at it? YES NO
Consistently use three to five words? YES NO
Use gestures to communicate (waves hi/bye, shakes head for no)? YES NO
Get your attention using sounds, gestures and pointing while looking at your eyes? YES NO
Bring you toys to show you? YES NO
Perform for social attention and praise? YES NO
Combine lots of sounds together as though talking (abada baduh abee)? YES NO
Show an interest in simple picture books? YES NO

By 18 months

Does the child?

Understand the meaning of in and out, off and on? YES NO
Point to more than 2 body parts when asked? YES NO
Use at least 20 words consistently? YES NO
Respond with words or gestures to simple questions (Where's teddy? What's that?)? YES NO
Demonstrate some pretend play with toys (gives teddy bear a drink, pretends a bowl is a hat)? YES NO
Make at least four different consonant sounds (p ,b, m, n, d, g, w, h)? YES NO
Enjoy being read to and sharing simple books with you? YES NO
Point to pictures using one finger? YES NO

By 2 years

Does the child?

Follow two-step directions (Go find your teddy bear and show it to Grandma.)? YES NO
Use 100 to 150 words? YES NO
Use at least two pronouns (you, me, mine)? YES NO
Consistently combine two to four words in short phrases (Daddy hat. Truck go down.)? YES NO
Enjoy being around other children? YES NO
Begin to offer toys to other children and imitate other children's actions and words? YES NO
Use words that are understood by others 50 to 60 per cent of the time? YES NO
Form words or sounds easily and without effort? YES NO
Hold books the right way up and turn the pages? YES NO
Read to stuffed animals or toys? YES NO
Scribble with crayons? YES NO

By 30 months

Does the child?

Understand the concepts of size (big/little) and quantity (a little/a lot, more)? YES NO
Use some adult grammar (two cookies, bird flying, I jumped)? YES NO
Use over 350 words? YES NO
Use action words such as run, spill, fall? YES NO
Participate in some turn-taking activities with peers, using both words and toys? YES NO
Demonstrate concern when another child is hurt or sad? YES NO
Combine several actions in play (puts blocks in the train and drives the train, drops the blocks off.)? YES NO
Put sounds at the beginning of most words? YES NO
Use words with two or more syllables or beats (ba-na-na, com-pu-ter, a-pple)? YES NO
Recognize familiar logos and signs involving print (Stop sign)? YES NO
Remember and understand familiar stories? YES NO

By 3 years

Does the child?

Understand who, what, where and why questions? YES NO
Create long sentences using five to eight words? YES NO
Talk about past events (trip to grandparents house, day at child care)? YES NO
Tell simple stories? YES NO
Show affection for favourite playmates? YES NO
Engage in multi-step pretend play (pretending to cook a meal, repair a car)? YES NO
Talk in a way that most people outside of the family understand what she/he is saying most of the time? YES NO
Have an understanding of the function of print (menus, lists, signs)? YES NO
Show interest in, and awareness of, rhyming words? YES NO
Read to stuffed animals or toys? YES NO
Scribble with crayons? YES NO

By 4 years

Does the child?

Follow directions involving three or more steps (First get some paper, then draw a picture and give it to Mommy)? YES NO
Use adult type grammar? YES NO
Tell stories with a beginning, middle and end? YES NO
Talk to try and solve problems with adults and with other children? YES NO
Show increasingly complex imaginary play? YES NO
Talk in a way that is understood by strangers almost all the time? YES NO
Generate simple rhymes (cat-bat)? YES NO
Match some letters with their sounds (letter b says buh, letter t says tuh)? YES NO