Before sending your kids with learning disabilities out through the neighborhood on Halloween to gather their sweet treats door to door, how about taking time to work out a plan to keep them safe.

Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Have a buddy lined up with each younger child. The two should stay together all the time going up to the houses together and walking the neighborhood together. At the door the older child can prompt the younger one if needed.

2. Walk along the street with a flashlight and wait at the curb while the child and buddy go up to the house together. This way you see your child with learning disabilities all the time but they have a measure of independence just walking up the sidewalks with their buddy.

3. Start the time for trick or treating just before sunset and say ahead of time what the maximum time out will be. This way there should be less tantrums if some kids want to stay out longer, but some are getting tired or it is getting late.

4. Checking the condition and safety of the candy or treats. Tell the kids ahead of time that everything is to be checked before eating and not to eat as they are trick or treating. When you come home dump all the treats on the table and carefully check each for broken wrappers of anything protruding from a wrapper that shouldn't be there. If in doubt about a piece throw it out.

5. If your child with learning disabilities is on medication, best to scour the candy immediately upon dumping and remove anything he or she is not allowed to have. Then divide the remaining candy into piles - one pile for one day - place each pile in a baggie and keep the baggies up and out of reach of the child till the day it is for.

6. Be sure to help your child brush his or her teeth well after eating the treats. And, if possible, set aside time for their treats after school rather than bedtime so sleep is not so disturbed for the rush of sugar.

Halloween can be a busy and fun holiday. With just a few precautions and adjustments to the daily routine, such as the buddy system for trick or treating, checking candy, dividing it up in baggies for each day, and eating it in late afternoon, rather than right before bedtime, you can provide a safer and healthier experience. Happy Halloween!

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Article by Susan Kramer