Thursday, September 18, 2008

Halloween on the Spectrum

I get a little bit sad this time of year as all the children are beginning to anticipate Halloween and what costumes they are going to wear. Each year I think, "This will be the year that Mason will be excited about a costume." Well......I don't think this is the year. Don't get me wrong, Mason LOVES Halloween, and he can't wait for it to come, but he doesn't ever want to dress up. It is too different for him, and he is not a fan. He likes watching other kids dressed up, but he doesn't like to do it himself.

So.....yet again....I am looking for simple costume ideas that he can wear that is not too different then something he would normally wear. It can't be big or bulky. Basically the best costume for him is one that he doesn't even know he's wearing. Do you guys have any ideas? At one point he said he wants to be a skeleton this year, but he doesn't want to wear the little jumpsuit. Now whenever I ask him he says, "I just want to be nuffin (nothing)."

Let me know if you have some ideas of something simple I can put together so he won't miss out on what all the other kids are doing. Basically, I guess I am trying to "trick" him into wearing a costume, but I don't want to make him do something he's uncomfortable with. This is just another reminder that he is not a typical 4 1/2 year old. All his "friends" are so excited to dress up as their favorite super hero, but my little dude just wants to be "nuffin".

I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

5 comments:

Anita Nap said...

Oh, that's rough. It is frustrating when you have those reminders that he's not a "typical" kid.

Would he wear a long sleeved shirt? My son, Nathan has a long-sleeved black shirt that is a "bones shirt". It is black but has white bones (that glow in the dark) on it. If you could prepare him now for wearing it, that might work. I got it at Old Navy last year. Then he could wear black sweat pants and you could even paint white bones on that too. Unless you're like me and totally NOT creative. Will he let you paint his face? That's a huge step for a kiddo with sensory issues.
I'll keep thinking of more ideas and get back to you. What about a book character, like Jack from the Magic Tree House books?

tiptoe mama said...

Bless his little heart.
One year I tried to make a crow costume I'd seen in a magazine. It was all covered with those fuzzy boa things, and it took me hours to sew (I'm not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination!) When the big day came, my little guy couldn't stand the fuzzy, and ripped the whole thing to shreds!
At the last minute, we dressed him as Charlie Brown: A yellow t-shirt with zigzags painted on it, black shorts, and white socks & tennis shoes. All normal clothes.

Good luck.

Happy in Holland said...

Good ideas, ladies. Charlie Brown would be easy, though he has no idea who Charlie Brown is. That's even better, right? Then he doesn't know he's wearing a costume. I did find a skeleton pattern, too, to make your own using a black jog suit. I'm still looking for more ideas if anyone has them. Thanks, everyone.

Anita Nap said...

I got my boys some Skeleton T-shirts at Old Navy for $5 today and thought of you.
I just remembered! There was a boy in Nathan's school last year who had some problems. I think he had Bi-Polar or something. Anyway, he dressed up as an FBI agent. He wore a suit and slicked back his hair and wore sunglasses. Would that work? Would he wear an ear piece in his ear? That was more what made us know who he was.

Cindy Price said...

What about just an orange shirt?? Or maybe camouflage shirt and pants.

Or then again, just don't worry about it. My son Evan is a watcher. He loves to watch, and doesn't like to participate in very much. Watchers are important people. As long as Mason is happy than you should be too!! It has taken me a long time to learn this concept. Things really bother me sometimes, when he is left out. They just don't bother Evan at all. So, I say let him be "nuffin" or you could even say to him, "Mason being yourself is the best thing you could be anyway and that's NOT nuffin!!"