Trick or treat for autistic kids
Edmonton centre helps youngsters adjust to holiday
Halloween can be scary for some kids, but for nine-yearold Matthew Zadwardnicki, who has autism, it’s extra frightening.
The experience of being around swarms of children and seeing people in strange costumes has kept him from celebrating Halloween so far.
“I’m trying to teach him more about imagination, so he can see others, see how they dress up, see that it’s just imaginary, not real life,” said his mother, Cindy Zadwardnicki.
Matthew dressed up for the first time Monday afternoon at the Maier Centre for Autism Services, which held a “safe” Halloween party to familiarize children with autism with the ritual of knocking on doors and dressing up in costume.
Terri Duncan, executive director of the Maier Centre, said Halloween can be an upsetting change of pace for children with autism, who depend on routine.
“The tricky part of it is that we give them a lot of rules and routines like, ‘Don’t go in people’s houses, don’t knock on random strangers’ doors, don’t take candy from strangers,’ and you wear normal clothes. Except for this one night where you can take candy from strangers, if you’re wearing a costume, and if you say ‘trick or treat.’ ”
One in 88 children in Edmonton live with autism, according to the Centre. Most of them are boys.
Dr. Keith Goulden is a pediatrician who specializes in neurological development. He said Halloween is a difficult time of year for children with autism.
“(I know) a bunch of parents that just ignore the whole thing. There are a number of kids who just aren’t going to school this week.”
He said many autistic children process sensory information differently, so parts of costumes like masks or makeup that rub on their skin or smell of Latex can bother them.
“They (also) don’t do surprise real well,” he said. “Halloween is all about having things leap out at you.”
The event modelled an evening of trick-or-treating. Small bumblebees, princesses and superheroes walked around the centre knocking on doors, which were labelled with paper printouts of houses. Centre staff would open the door when the children knocked and hand them candy if they said “trick or treat” and “thank you.”