By Sally Burke, Licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Director of Specialty Early Intervention Services) 

Halloween and all of its tricks and treats can be a very thrilling holiday for many families.  It may be more challenging for some families, especially for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  If you ask a child what their favorite holiday is, Halloween will most likely feature somewhere near the top.  Who wouldn’t want to dress up as their favorite superhero or princess, visit their neighbors’ homes and get candy and eat sweet treats until their parents tell them no more?

Some children with autism struggle with pretend-play, and can have issues related to different types of costume clothing fabrics and all of those cute costume accessories.  Social skills may be an area of need and some children may not be able to engage in appropriate responses which could possibly lead to other behavioral challenges.  They may have limited vocal abilities which do not allow them to engage in conversations that typically evolve during “trick or treating”, such as saying please and thank you.  They may not understand they cannot consume all the little treats right away.  You want your child to be part of this exciting experience and engage in this off-beat and fun tradition, but you are worried that Halloween may just not be for you and your child.

Tricks and Tips for Halloween: 

You know your child best. You know their likes/dislikes and tolerance for particular types of clothing.  Try on costumes well in advance.  Let them play in it for short intervals for a few weeks prior to Halloween.  If nothing fits right or seems like they will not tolerate it for an extended period of time, consider just a T-shirt with a pumpkin or simple items worn over regular clothes, like a cape.  Don’t make them wear something they are not comfortable in.

Create a visual social story or find a book that discusses the topic of Halloween and all it offers and what to expect prior to the event.  (You can Google search Halloween social stories and a variety will pop up for you that are already created or you can modify them to meet your child’s needs).

Look for opportunities to practice trick or treating.  Review and rehearse the act of trick or treating.  See if neighbors will let you ring their doorbell to practice the “trick or treat” skill a few days before Halloween.

Know their limits. If they can only handle a few houses, do not push them to do more. Stop before a potential problem behavior arises and praise them for a job well done.

Attempt to go to places your child may already be comfortable, such as relatives or friends’ homes.  This pairs the new activity of trick or treating with already established places and people. Consider skipping homes with lots of lights, sounds, and scary decorations.

If it is an option for you, consider staying home and having your child help you pass out treats. They may enjoy this just as much as going out.

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

By: Alison Senior (Direct of Center-based Services – Worcester)

Our Worcester ABA Center is thrilled to share that we will be expanding our space this fall. The expansion will create four new instructional areas, as well as an expanded sensory area, and will allow us to double our enrollment capacity for the Intensive Day Program. Both our Intensive Day Program and our After-school Program will expand to sixty children per session. We are so excited to be able to move some families off the wait-list while continuing to provide a high quality of clinical services to all our clients.

The new space will feature four new instructional areas, additional restrooms for targeting activities of daily living, and an expanded sensory area. Two of the instructional areas will be set up much like our existing Center space, with interactive play centers for structured leisure activities and cooperative play and table areas for group instruction and targeted social skills lessons. We will be able to expand upon the different play areas offered, including additional dramatic and exploratory play activities, and finally have homes for all the additional toys we’ve had in storage. We will also be adding a large area with individual cubbies and open table work areas, dedicated to discrete trial instruction time. This will allow each child to receive individualized instruction time, with limited distractions. Our fourth new space will be home to Circle time, creating dedicated space for group instruction in pre-academics, story time, as well as music and movement activities. In the lobby area of our new space, we will be creating an expanded sensory area, dedicating space to having multiple activity options available for a greater number of children to access at once.

With the expanded number of instructional areas available, we will be increasing the day program to at least six groups of up to 10 clients each. Having a greater number of groups gives us the opportunity to refine peer groups and individualize group activities based on skill level even further. Our group schedules will also be shifting to allow for more movement between instructional areas, building motor breaks into transition time, and have each client contact a greater number of different activities across their day.

We are so excited to share these new developments with you and cannot wait to show off the new space once we are up and running. If you would like more information about our Worcester Center-Based Services or if you would like to be added to the wait-list for an opening, please contact the main office at 508-363-0200.

Sally Burke, M.S. Ed., BCBA, Director of Early Intervention Services at BCI has been working with children with a variety of special needs for more than 15 years. In her article entitled “My child has been diagnosed with ASD. Now what?” which was featured in Bay State Parent, Sally provides parents with a helpful overview of what happens after an ASD diagnosis – from finding service providers to accommodate the recommended number of treatment hours to asking the right questions.

Read the article

BCI has partnered with HMEA’s Autism Resource Central to offer a Family Fun Day at Great Wolf Lodge in September! This is a special event that will be held on September 24th for children who are part of HMEA’s Autism Resource Central. BCI will offer a quiet area as well as sensory-friendly activities. BCI is an ongoing supporter of HMEA’s Autism Resource Central and this event has been made possible through the agency’s $5,000 sponsorship.