Halloween is an extremely overwhelming holiday for most kids with autism or sensory processing issues. Costumes may cause meltdowns. Anxiety may be kicked into high gear while trick-or-treating. It's not an easy holiday for these kids.
We learned many years ago that social stories can be a lifesaver when it comes to overwhelming situations and holidays such as Halloween. This free printable Halloween social story for kids about trick-or-treating covers many aspects of the holiday, including wearing a costume, how to trick-or-treat, safety concerns, approaching houses to collect candy, and what to say while trick-or-treating.
About The Free Printable Halloween Social Story
This social story about trick-or-treating was a collaborative project with my friend Renae from Every Star is Different. I had originally intended to create a basic social story, but there are already plenty of social stories like that and we wanted to create the best social story possible. So Renae and I set out to create an extremely thorough social story that covers safety, basic speech scripts, and sensory issues. It discusses wearing a costume, how to trick-or-treat, what to say while trick-or-treating, and more! We hope it will be useful for many families!
The simple sentences are written in first person to help the reader know exactly what to do and say while trick-or-treating. There are full color photos to support the text as well as speech balloons to emphasize the exact phrases to say while trick-or-treating. You could also use the speech balloons as a cue card for nonverbal children as well.
I highly suggest laminating the social story for durability. You can use binder rings to keep the social story together or store it in a binder. As an alternative to laminating, you could use sheet protectors in a binder. Or if you find yourself printing off lots of social stories, then this binding machine is a lifesaver!
Download The Free Printable Trick-or-Treating Social Story
