Year after year Halloween looks different for our family. My son Stalen is 7, autistic and non-speaking. Each year he determines his Halloween experience.

For the first few years, Halloween was just another day. There was no chance of touching a pumpkin, wearing a costume or eating a mini chocolate bar. It can be difficult to think about holidays how you dreamed they would be versus the reality of how they actually are for your family.

I quickly learned that there will be good Halloween’s, bad Halloween’s, some horrible Halloween’s and some great Halloween’s.

Stalen has slowly opened up to the idea of Halloween and other holidays. You might even say that he enjoys Halloween.

Every year, Stalen and I dress up together as a duo. We carefully select our costumes in August to ensure comfort and to find something that does not cover Stalen’s face. Once the costume arrives, we wear them a few times to ensure that it is comfortable and their are no problems before the big day.

It’s so important to remember that it is everyone’s Halloween. Whether the person is non-speaking, cannot wear a costume because of sensory challenges, or appears to look like an older trick or treater.

Kindness ensures that everyone will have a great Halloween.

Just because someone may mark the occasion differently doesn’t mean that it’s wrong.