Blue pumpkins help kids on the autism spectrum navigate Halloween

[Demovictory9]

?e2225bc5c1a75a1036ca3021fecba2b47792abfe

For three years as a toddler, Caleb Lytle wore a Spider-Man costume everyday. He called it his “super suit” and wore it until the elbows and knees had holes and the suit had to be retired, his mom, Holly Lytle, said.

With that love for costumes, the now 11-year-old Caleb’s favorite holiday is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Halloween. And that love is shared by his 16-year-old step-brother, Cooper, who loves candy but hates costumes. Cooper doesn’t even like it when his siblings wear them around the house. Both brothers are on the autism spectrum.

That can make Halloween hard for Cooper. But this year it should be easier when the brothers go out trick-or-treating, this time carrying blue pumpkin candy buckets.

The blue pumpkin is a way to subtly indicate that a child is on the autism spectrum and may react differently to situations that arise while trick-or-treating.

“It gets tiring at every single door to say, ‘I’m sorry, he has autism,’ ” Lytle said. “He doesn’t need to hear people apologizing all the time.”

Lytle is the founder of the Isaac Foundation, a nonprofit that provides educational information grants, and support for the friends and families of people affected by autism.

The blue pumpkin movement has been floating around social media for a few years, Lytle said.

The national organization Autism Speaks shared the blue bucket idea ahead of Halloween last year, and the idea has grown in popularity since.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/oct/30/blue-pumpkins-help-kids-on-the-autism-spectrum-nav/

[DrToast]

1. Just heard about this the other day

Great idea. Hope the word spreads.

[mopinko]

2. other autism orgs are outraged about this.

they feel like this is painting targets on vulnerable kids.
it also isnt really a thing. that pic was one person, who got a pumpkin from a place that has about a dozen colors.

always be a little suspect of autism speaks. they arent respected in the community they claim to represent.