Halloween is the perfect season for all of us to cloak ourselves in lots of fun, but this prospect for people with disabilities may present a few challenges. Yet, finding or creating costumes when you or your child has a disability can be a mixed treat bag of emotions. Let's try to make the stress less and the fun fabulous!

Are you an Elvis or 70s fan? Bellbottom Elvis trousers may become entangled in wheelchair wheels as can feather boas, so think about ways to shorten or pin back dangling fabric. It's always good to give a costume idea rehearsal before the big night.

When decorating power chairs, be aware of the battery area and potentially dangerous moving parts. Tall bicycle flags can be attached; particularly fun reflective ones to meld safety and a festive look together. Spokes and flag sticks can be decorated with glow stick necklaces, reflective tape and other items depending on the theme. Consider the faux spider web material entwined in spokes. As you are rolling around the block, dead leaves and yard debris will naturally add to your spooky look!

Get an idea of how a box fits over a wheelchair before you paint or decorate it. Remember, too, the whole thing needs to fit through doorways. Wire coat hangers, brown paper grocery sacks, duct tape and foil can create the illusion of everything from a baked potato to a throne or spaceship. The new Snuggie® blanket you wear like a backward robe can make a great long robe when cinched with a belt while you tool around on your scooter. Add other fabrics and you’ve got everything from a monk, executioner with a black pillowcase hood, a Greco-Roman toga look with an ivy wreath on your head and more! Let your imagination run wild and tuck those long ends in so you don’t run over yourself!

Angel and fairy wings can be fit around your arms with straps like a backpack, pinned to the back of a wheelchair or strapped around the handle bars, or pinned to a fabric overlay so as not to damage expensive upholstery. Even wheelchair and scooter slip covers can turn your adaptive ride into a throne for a regal or spooky seat.

Dragon and cat tails can peek out from between a wheelchair or scooter seat behind you, but be careful they aren’t too long if you’re walking around on a walker or crutches. Get a tail with a wire insert that can be curled up and out of the way. Long cuffs, gowns and royal robes may be tripping hazards for children, so roll them up or hem them. And make sure whatever you wear you have an escape route in case you need to go to the bathroom. There’s nothing like being outfitted like a queen in your throne and not being able to visit ‘the porcelain throne’ when you need to!

Oxygen and medical pumps can be wrapped in a festive, coordinating bag, but be sure that tubes and cords aren't obstructed. Be careful getting wrapped in plastic, though. You can easily overheat. That also means you should be very careful with cheap store costumes and any homemade creations. Using black plastic trash bags for raisin costumes, white plastic bags for ghosts, or theme leaf bags for pumpkin costumes may be inexpensive alternatives, but think about the weather and yours or your child's temperature sensitivities as you will sweat for sure! Oilcloth from the fabric or hardware store is less dangerous and also serves to keep you dry in rainy weather.

Reflective tape, glow sticks and flashlights are a must if you are trick-or-treating outside or going to a dance under dark lights. And what about lights on a wheelchair's wheels, not just for fun, but to be easily seen rolling down the block. Also, consider sturdy, roomy, trick or treat bags with padded handles that can be attached or looped through a chair’s seatbelt or a mail bag-style bag that can be looped across a walker or across your chest as you are spooking about the neighborhood. You can even great ghosts and goblins at the door more easily if you are on a cane or crutches ahd have the candy in a sling-style bag across you without going off balance at the door.

Sometimes a decorated hood or a hat can be substituted for the traditional mask, but remember to bring a storage bag if someone with sensory or attention sensitivity drags it off in frustration. That will be carried around the rest of the night once it’s removed.

Make up and face paint are generally recommended over masks, but some people just can’t be deterred from wearing one and many have an allergy to face paint. Consider using hypoallergenic cosmetics from the drug store or a half face mask like the Lone Ranger or the ones from Mardi Gras, decorated with beads and feathers,so you can breathe and talk clearly.

Making an iron-on transfer on see through nylon that can be sewed into a hood or Zorro type wrapped mask might be a good alternative for adults and kids who can't tolerate plastic or rubber covering their faces. Nylon cloth can also be used to cover large ventilation holes in masks.
Let’s say you choose to be a surgeon for Halloween. You may find the actual cotton/poly scrubs are more cost-effective than the nylon outfit available at the costume shop. And you can add more to it like fake blood and other stains to make it as gruesome as you like.

Does your daughter want to be a princess? Check the local thrift store for bridesmaid or flower girl dresses one size larger than you need. Most have only been worn once and look brand new, so you’ve got a play dress for the rest of the year to boot! There are also fatigues and uniform jackets in a variety of sizes at most thrift stores. Graduation gowns in a variety of colors are often available and can be used as witch's or wizard robes, as can the blanket with sleeves previously mentioned. Dollar stores sometimes have craft sections with a small selection of sparkly jewels to glue on costumes, and of course, craft stores have all sorts of wonderful finds.

Paper sacks can be made into a variety of hats and headdresses and are surprisingly warm for the cool night of fun. Grocery sacks can be cut into jackets, but beware of paper cuts. Fold the edges down to make them more comfortable. Reinforce paper with tape in key places. Be prepared if the costume rips, so pack a repair kit.

Most neighborhoods, many cultural organizations and faith communities, and some schools plan costume parties for children to keep dangerous streets clear on Halloween night. People of all ages and abilities should have supervision or travel in groups, as well as at community events. It's a sad fact that bullies and predators are often drawn to such gatherings and often cannot be recognized easily, so prepare and go with a group of people you know!

Establishing working relationships within your communities in planning events can be as simple as contributing your own selection snacks or drinks for planners and volunteers, or having family members, including our children, help with work details. Why not make a community potluck out of Halloween? Or a barbeque on your block! Remind party planners of simple wheelchair accessibility and other disability-friendly standards. That way, you aren’t getting caught in decorations that are dragging the ground or pulling lights down. Offer to help set up – and maybe even clean up – for the event.
If you or someone you love has dietary restrictions, provide a dish that everyone can share! Or suggest that small toys are used as a friendly alternative for game prizes.

If you are going to a fall festival, some booths at carnival type parties may give tickets or coupons as prizes and they can be redeemed for what’s available at a prize table. This is an accommodation that gives all everyone greater inclusion opportunities.

People from 2 to 102 enjoy the magic of Halloween and fun. A disability doesn’t have to put a damper on that love of fall fun and spooking around with friends and family. Be creative and as whimsical, wacky or wicked as you want to be. You just might be the one taking away a prize for the best costume at the party!