Trick or Treat

Guest writer Josh is Sarah Steinberg’s brother. Josh is 29 years old, lives in California and has autism. As a child, Josh struggled to communicate and he didn’t speak until the age of 4. Over the years Josh learned to communicate, and today he has a lot to speak about and share with listeners. Josh now lives on his own in his own apartment with some in home support. This independence came after years of therapy and special education working toward this goal. Josh writes a monthly article for our blog. We encourage readers to send in questions to Josh to be featured in a special question and answer series with Josh.

Well another Halloween has come and gone, bringing with it scares, costumes, and pillowcases full of enough candy to make any kid’s dentist able to get a new Convertible. But while I can’t give lessons for this year, I can at least give you all a heads up for 2015. You may find these tips beautiful, some maybe not so, but all these are designed from my own personal experience.

First off, the big important one. Candy… We’ve all heard the rumors of stuff being put into candy that shouldn’t be in it… Well I can safely say here and now that those rumors… are false. In all of recorded history, there has only been 2 different cases of anything REMOTELY like that happening and in both cases it was for the same reason and directed ONLY at a significant other. So whatever candies your little ones get, I guarantee they’re more than likely safe to consume.

Now if the candy is CLEARLY tampered with, i.e. the wrapper is sloppily put back on, holes in the candy itself, etc…THEN yes you can throw it away. But if it just has a slight tear in the wrapper, it’s more than likely normal wear-and-wear.

Next up, costumes. Halloween is a time to be creative and go crazy with whatever costume idea you have. Dress up as a Power Ranger, a pirate, a Pokemon, ANYTHING. Let your imagination run wild. If your little Jonny wants to dress up as a bowl of Ninja Soup, let him! This is a time for fun and wackiness.. and even ninja soup!

Next up, scaring your friends. Now if one of your friends has made it clear that they have a heart flutter or another underlying condition, I’d recommend not scaring them. Last thing you want is to have your little one taken in for scaring someone literally half to death. Other than that, GO FOR THE GUSTO! Use peeled grapes as eyeballs, noodles as brains and intestines, liver as, well, liver! Whatever you and your little one thinks would give people the heebie-jeebies, go for it! This is the one time of year where a little mischief like that is welcomed!

Now speaking of mischief…one thing we should also go over is the “trick” in “trick or treat”. While some houses may solicit not to celebrate Halloween or give out healthy foods like apples or raisins, there is NO reason to engage in actions like egging or toilet-papering. As someone who has had it happen before to them, it’s not funny nor cute, it’s just annoying. Plus, if you get caught doing it, you may not get to celebrate Halloween again anytime soon.

All in all, the goal of Halloween is to celebrate Harvests… and have a LOT of fun! I can only hope my advice helps you all do just that! Happy Halloween everyone!

Check out these other great blogs by Josh:

New Faces…Old Rust