🎃 Halloween & Autism: How Social Stories and Visual Schedules Can Help Ease Anxiety

Explore why Halloween can be challenging for kids with autism and how using social stories and visuals can help.

Halloween can be a fun time, but for children with autism, the holiday can also be overwhelming. The sights, sounds, and new social interactions can provoke anxiety and fear. The unpredictability of costumes, knocking on doors, and interacting with strangers may be difficult for children who thrive on routine and familiarity.

Halloween social stories like this one can be bought online or made.

In this post, we’ll explore why Halloween might be challenging for children with autism and how using social stories, visual supports, and alternative communication tools can help prepare them. I’ll also share ideas for incorporating seasonal learning to increase familiarity and comfort.

Table of Contents

1. Why Halloween Can Be Challenging for Children with Autism

2. Using Social Stories

3. Visual Supports for Trick-or-Treating

4. Incorporating Seasonal Learning

5. Fun First

6. Related Resources

   
   

Why Some Children with Autism May Fear Halloween

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Halloween introduces so many unfamiliar experiences: costumes, trick-or-treating, and noisy environments that can be overstimulating. Sensory sensitivities can make wearing a costume uncomfortable or even unbearable, while loud sounds, flashing lights, or crowded spaces might trigger anxiety.

Children might show this fear by refusing to wear a costume, avoiding eye contact, becoming anxious about visiting new places, or engaging in behaviors such as crying or shutting down.

Understanding these responses can help parents and teachers create a more supportive experience, and using tools like social stories can be a game-changer.

Using Social Stories

This Trick or Treating social story is an easy way to help autistic kids understand what to expect this Halloween.

Halloween social stories are one easy way to help children with autism understand what they can expect over the holiday.

How Social Skill Stories Can Help

Social skill stories provide a clear and structured way to explain situations to children with autism, helping them prepare for events like Halloween. These short narratives break down complex social situations, such as trick-or-treating, into manageable steps. This clarity reduces fear by giving children a sense of control over what’s happening.

Perhaps most importantly, social skill stories are typically paired with pictures, which is particularly beneficial for children with autism, as they are often strong visual learners and may struggle with purely auditory descriptions (Kokina & Kern, 2010).

A Halloween social story might include:

• Dressing Up: Explaining why people wear costumes on Halloween and that it’s okay to choose something or even skip the costume altogether.

• Trick-or-Treating: Walking through the process of going to houses, saying "trick-or-treat," receiving candy, and thanking the person. Social stories can outline each step in a way that feels reassuring and familiar.

• Not Entering Houses: Explaining that it is one of the few times we go up to houses, but we do not enter them.

• Interacting with Strangers: Explaining that Halloween is a time when people wear costumes and that the interactions are meant to be fun, not scary.

• Social Rules: Explaining that they should only take one piece of candy or that they should say thank you after they take the candy.

Halloween introduces so many unfamiliar experiences: costumes, trick-or-treating, and noisy environments that can be overstimulating.

Using Halloween social stories helps children with autism feel more prepared and confident by explaining what to expect during the holiday.

👉 Learn more in my post: What Is a Social Skill Story?

If you’re interested, I offer ready-made Halloween social stories, or you can create your own using simple visuals or online tools. Reviewing the story several times before Halloween will help your child feel more prepared.

Visual Supports for Trick-or-Treating

Consider using a visual schedule like this one if your child shows anxiety around Halloween activities.

In addition to social stories, visuals can be incredibly helpful in guiding your child through the actual trick-or-treating process. Creating a Halloween visual schedule can provide a step-by-step guide for what to expect.

Visual supports such as this can be purchased or made to help children with autism understand the sequence of events.

For example:

• First, I put on my costume

• Next, I get my candy bag

• Then, I walk up to the door

• Next, I ring the doorbell

• Then, I say "trick-or-treat"

• Finally, I get candy

During the Halloween season you can help young autistic learners become familiar with the holiday by incorporating seasonal themes in their work or play.

These simple visuals can help children know what’s coming next, reducing anxiety and uncertainty. You might also consider creating a visual that shows how many houses you’ll visit before going home, or how many houses you'll go to before they can eat their candy—or even if they can eat candy after every house.

👉 Learn more here: How Can Visual Schedules Help My Child?

You can create these using pictures or icons that your child is already familiar with or purchase a Trick or Treating Visual Support like this one.

If you have a child that is nonverbal or minimally verbal Halloween PECS style communication cards can be used.

Halloween-themed communication cards not only help non-verbal children with autism express their needs but also serve as a valuable tool for children with auditory processing delays to better understand and participate in the holiday fun.

These types of supports empower children by giving them a way to engage in Halloween activities while respecting their communication style and comfort level.

Incorporating Seasonal Learning

Halloween can also be a fun time to work on skills such as understanding emotions or "real/pretend."

In addition to preparing for Halloween events, you can help familiarize your child with the season by incorporating Halloween-themed activities into their daily learning.

Here are a few ideas:

• Worksheets: Pumpkin-themed cutting, counting or matching worksheets can introduce Halloween in a low-pressure way while practicing basic academic skills.

• Adapted Books: Interactive books with flaps, textures, or matching activities can teach your child about Halloween-related vocabulary in a hands-on, engaging way.

• Vocabulary Practice: Introduce simple Halloween words (like "costume," "pumpkin," and "candy") through flashcards or picture books. The more familiar your child is with these words, the more comfortable they’ll be when they encounter them during the holiday.

  
  

You can purchase adapted books such as this one or buy Halloween themed books with interactive flaps, textures, or matching activities can teach your child about Halloween-related vocabulary in a hands-on, engaging way.

These activities help children become familiar with the sights and sounds they’ll experience during Halloween, making it less scary and more approachable. You can find these types of worksheets and adapted books here, or create your own based on your child’s current interests and skills.

Fun First

While all of these tools—social stories, visuals, communication aids, and learning activities—can make Halloween more enjoyable for your child, remember that the holiday should always be fun.

Pumpkin-themed cutting, counting or matching worksheets can introduce Halloween in a low-pressure way while practicing basic academic skills.

If, after all your efforts, your child still doesn’t want to dress up or go trick-or-treating, that’s perfectly okay. The goal is to give them the option to participate and understand the event, but it’s equally important to recognize when an activity isn’t right for your child.

If your child is still upset by the idea of trick or treating, you could consider:

• Hosting a Halloween-themed day at home: Try pumpkin crafts, baking, or watching Halloween movies.

• Letting your child hand out candy: This can be a great way to participate without the sensory overload of trick-or-treating.

Ultimately, Halloween should be a joyful time, and if skipping trick-or-treating or costumes helps your child enjoy the day more, that’s a perfectly valid choice.

Halloween can be a challenging holiday for children with autism, but with the right tools—like social stories, visuals, and communication supports—you can help make it a fun and stress-free experience.

Whether you choose to purchase ready-made resources or create your own, the key is providing structure and familiarity, so your child feels comfortable.

Most importantly, remember that Halloween is about fun, so tailor the celebration to what works best for your child.

Related Resources

• What Is a Social Skill Story?

• How Can Visual Schedules Help My Child?

• 3 Skills to Work on This Halloween

References

• Kokina, A., & Kern, L. (2010). Social story interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis. Remedial and Special Education, 31(6), 407–416.

• Steinbrenner, J. R., et al. (2020). Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.