Presents on Halloween?? | Autism PDD

Could be the spd isssue going on. Can't tell until age 8 though for this. How about holiday videos so she sees the differences. Does Anybody else's child have confusion with the difference in the Holidays. Abby is getting what Halloween is suppose to look like. The colors, pumpkins , when she see's a ghost she says. OOH a Ghost, Scary.... She will walk in someone's house or at daycare and say Trick or Treat. But when I ask her what she wants to be for Halloween. She says presents. Then she gets into talking about Christmas. I don't know if she does not understand the whole concept of dressing up or if the whole "What" question is throwing her off or if she is just plain confused about the both holidays.

Abby does the same thing, anything that looks like it belongs at a b-day party including cake she thinks it is someone b-day. I should try and keep everything as seperate as possible. Thanks.It is pretty common for the age range that she is at. My ds is five this year and finally starting to figure out there is a difference between Christmas and Halloweeen up until now he hasn't understood it. He also still thinks that if I make cake as a desert it must be someone's birthday (usually he thinks its his) and wants to know where the presents are. One of the things I have always done with my kids that has kind of helped is I take them shopping for a costume with me or I make their costume and then we practice trick or treating at the door for about a week before we take them out. I also let them wear their costumes around the house and color things with halloween stuff on them. I try to keep them away from Christmas at the store until Halloween is over so they can differtiate that there are different things we get for Christmas then we get for Halloween. She does know the difference if there is a Christmas video on vs. a Halloween video on. By the way what is spd?

We actually have a tradition. The "Great Pumpkin" comes and takes away ALL the candy on Halloween night, and leaves a SMALL gift for them instead. I let them eat some candy first, then pick out their 10 favorite pices, then the rest is gone. The girls don't mind, because they look forward to see what the pumpkin left them!

We never really had an issue with getting the holidays confused - maybe it's party because I have read books about holidays to both kids for at least a month before the holiday (I started this when ds was about 5 months old). I have to say that this is the first Halloween I haven't really read Halloween-specific books in the last month. We've read books about pumpkins, but not necessarily Halloween. Both my kids have been SOOOO looking forward to Halloween and dressing up this year. Ds is going to be Captain Hook and I have had his costume since AUGUST! Dd is going to be Tinkerbell and I got her costum about 2 weeks after I got ds'.

But, that reminds me, I have to get out the Thanksgiving books. One year, I got magazine organizers and I put books from each holiday in each of them. I have five containers - one for Halloween/Thanksgiving, one for Christmas, one for Valentine's Day/St. Patrick's Day (we're VERY Irish!), one for Easter, and then one for miscellanesous holidays (Martin Luther Kind, Fourth of July, etc.). There is a series of books (can't remember the authors) but each one is about a different holiday - the origins and traditions. Some are religious in nature as well. Oh, we have a lot of books - can you tell?My son was 4 before he got the Halloween trick or treat thing. Halloween is
big at our house and we decorate like crazy. He is also visual so we used a
lot of visual (props) decorations and that really helped. The Thanksgiving
one is the one he questions? Too much history for him. OOOOH! I'm a Snoopy fan and I love that you do this! I might have to try that - except ds might be too old. Actually, dd even remembers last Halloween - she described in detail what we did, including riding around in a wagon with a blanket over her! But, it's a great idea!

Do you get the same answer when you ask What do you want to be for Halloween vs what do you want to dress up as vs. what kind of costume would you like to wear? Questions of any kind are tough, so visual supports would help if it's a problem with language rather than a problem with the whole concept of Halloween.

Here are two social stories about Halloween, in case anybody needs them:

http://www.djusd.k12.ca.us/pioneer/lburgos/SocialStories.htm - unillustrated social stories about Halloween and carving pumpkins

http://www.slatersoftware.com/Halloween%20Social%20Story.pdf - Halloween story illustrated with PECS-like symbols

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Good Idea...I like the Charlie Brown reference too.

Thanks everyone

Norwaymom, I think visual supports will help her more she loves play dress up as it is , good thinking, I was going to actually wait until the actual night, maybe I will pull out some old costumes.

Snoopywoman, Are you really that organized??

You have all those different containers for each individual holiday. WoW! I feel like a Slob , I am no where near that. Wish I was