For many children Halloween is a holiday that is looked forward to with huge anticipation. As a child and even as an adult, I get ridiculously excited about it. I start thinking about costumes in August. When I was a teacher, I could not wait until October 1 so I could decorate my room for the holiday. Yes, I am a bit obsessed. So, I could not wait to share my excitement with my offspring. To my utter shock Boo Bear hated Halloween and wanted to have nothing to do with it. To his credit, Halloween probably does not make much sense to a person on the spectrum. 364 days of the year one is not supposed to go knock on random strangers doors. That is against the rules. People don’t normally wear spooky or silly masks on their faces. And, isn’t there a rule about not taking candy from strangers? So, to Boo, Halloween made no sense and he wanted nothing to do with it. Mouse loved Halloween, so we would thoroughly enjoy dressing up and ransacking the neighborhood for candy. Boo was very happy to stay home.
Last year Boo’s PCA came in costume on Halloween. Boo thought that was a bit strange but okay. D, the PCA, wanted to take him out for treats. I was a bit dubious but agreed to let him try. I put Boo in his Superman cape and let him go. I expected that they would be back in 10 minutes. An hour later they returned with a bulging sack of treats. I was amazed. D said that after the first few houses Boo quickly caught one. He would ring the bell, smile widely and sign for candy. Some nice adult would put treats in his bag. He would smile again and then go on to the next house. Magic!
In my last blog I talked about Boo going to celebrate the birthday of a friend at MOA. This same friend wanted to trick or treat with Boo. Once again, Boo put on his Superman cape and headed out the door with his PCA, A. They had a glorious time. The boys were able to go up to the doors by themselves and sign for candy. They received quite a haul. The evening eventually wound down when Ravi was turning blue with cold. Boo and A came home, tired but very happy.
So, this is just another example of living outside the diagnosis and Boo doing things that I had never dreamed that he would do. Two weeks ago I never thought he would stay out late at the mall with friends. Last week I was amazed that he willingly embraced Halloween in all its sticky glory. I have said before and I will say again, the future has not yet been written. No one can forecast the future of a child when they are three years old, no one. All children are full of surprises and grow and learn at their own pace. Next week Boo will compete in the state meet for his first Special Olympics. I never thought that would happen either. I will be sure to post all the details right here.
Harriet's Hedgehogs and Autism Advocacy 