Blue, And Teal, And Purple (Pumpkins) – OH MY!!!
Article + Photos by Lizzie West
We have all seen the traditional orange jack-o-lantern treat buckets used all along our sidewalks and doorsteps at Halloween. Recently, we have also seen them showing up in TEAL to alert us to kiddos with food allergies. Some folks even display teal pumpkins in their holiday decor to communicate they have non-food treats for little ones. What a super idea! And now, we are most recently seeing them in BLUE, PURPLE, and other colors, too!. But, what do they mean?
Many parents would like their special needs children to have the same joy-filled memories from this spooktacular night as all the other little dress-up angels and astronauts around the world. If you’ve ever spent the evening giving out candy, you know the resounding echo of “trick-or-treat!” from the neighborhood kids. You usually follow-up with a quick “Wow, everyone! What are you all dressed as?” or “Who is excited for treats?” Unfortunately, some of these little goblins have non-verbal disabilities and won’t be able to excitedly inform you of their costume with words or tell you they don’t like candy corn. Some parents have noticed their children being singled out and even shamed for not responding as expected. Kiddos can use these different colored pumpkins as an indicator they experience trick or treating differently.
To that end – it is a good rule to live by that we shouldn’t expect every kid to meet OUR expectations of the holiday, as we don’t know the ins and outs of their lives or abilities. You can keep an eye out for those pumpkins, but even better – YOU can display them with your trick or treat goodies to indicate that you offer an array of accommodations for all the ghouls and goblins!
These blue buckets represent kiddos with Autism who may be unable to share their excitement with you through traditional verbal communication. These buckets are meant to be a beacon for you to understand a different means of communication is necessary for these mini candy hoarders. Though the buckets were originally intended to help alert people to Autistic trick-or-treaters, some with verbal communication limitations, it is a great way to communicate that a little one may have difficulty participating in the festivities in a traditional way. This could be due to any number of disabilities or impediments.
PURPLE buckets indicate trick or treaters with Epilepsy and though many of these trick or treaters may not have the type of Epilepsy that is sensitive to light, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you want to be a safer space for these kids, you can provide a space without flashing lights by changing the settings to a slower or static light setting. (https://vitalrecord.tamu.edu/shades-of-fall-purple-teal-and-blue-pumpkins-promote-safer-celebrations/ )
Please let these little pirates and princesses know how adorable they look and how excited you are they chose to travel to your doorway in search of their sweet candy treasure. Please make thoughtful comments about how great their costume is and definitely don’t forego giving them treats, because they simply aren’t able to tell you that little exclamation of “trick-or-treat!” as you expected. Let’s make it fun for everyone and embrace this cool new tool!
Check out where you can find a special bucket for your kiddo (other colors available as well): BLUE or TEALorPURPLE.
And REMEMBER, just because a trick-or-treater is carrying a colorful bucket, doesn’t mean they are advertising a need,
but we should try to collectively be aware of that possiblity.