Halloween is in two days, can you believe it? While this can be a daunting time for many children with sensory processing challenges, it can also be an opportunity to engage your child in exploring new textures in a fun, safe way.

Exploring Pumpkin Pulp and Seeds

Many times, the thought of carving a pumpkin or scooping out the inside of the pumpkin can be overwhelming to a child.

There are a variety of sensations that the child encounters during this type of activity from sight to smell to touch. This can often result in a negative reaction to the experience.

If your child does have difficulty processing these different senses, you can still offer him/her a way to explore the pumpkin by placing the pumpkin pulp and/or seeds inside of a large gallon size Ziploc bag. This allows your child the opportunity to interact with the pumpkin pulp and seeds without feeling overwhelmed by the smell and/or texture. The instructions are also found here.

Candy Corn Slime

Slime is a popular activity right now and if your child often seeks sensory input, making and playing with slime can support sensory regulation as well as provide a way to channel excess energy and excitement. Check out the recipe here!

Alternatives to Candy

If you are avoiding candy, there are a variety of allergen friendly recipes you can make with your child. Even if your child is not attempting to eat these food items, engaging them in making the food is just as important. It gives them an opportunity to interact with the food items and explore them via smell and touch.

• Monster teeth: You will need apple slices, a safe nut butter, and marshmallows for this recipe. Spread the nut butter on the inside of two apple slices, place 5-6 marshmallows between the slices and ta-da! A fun and tasty smile.

• Pretzel spiders: You will need pretzels (which can be gluten free if needed), cream cheese (Kite Hill makes a dairy free version), and a circular cracker (i.e., Ritz, Nut Thins, Lance’s Gluten Free cracker). Spread cream cheese on one side of a cracker, add the pretzel sticks for legs, and top with another cracker with cream cheese. Oreo cookies or gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies can be used instead of a Ritz and cream cheese.

• Mini Pizza Pumpkins: You can buy your own dough, make your own, or purchase premade pizza crusts for this snack. It is also easy to use English Muffins, Pillsbury crescent pizza dough, or even biscuits with a pumpkin cookie cutter. Spread the pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce onto the crust, top with cheddar cheese, and olive slices for the face. You can also support your child in exploring other food items for toppings including green peppers, pepperoni, ham, or even pineapple.

• The recipe for the pizza pumpkin can be found here.

The most important piece is to HAVE FUN! Food is meant to be fun. It is meant to be messy and to be explored. Giving your child the opportunity to interact with food using utensils, their hands, and bringing the new food items closer to their mouths will lead to a positive experience. Don’t be afraid to use cookie cutters to change the shape of food or to bring your child into the kitchen to be a part of food preparation. Each of these small steps supports their success in becoming more open to new food experiences.

We wish you all a very Happy Halloween!!

Additional activities and snacks:
Halloween Sensory Bins
Halloween Slime
Crescent Mummy Dogs
Non-Candy Halloween Snacks

Blaire Harter, MA, CCC-SLP
Executive Directos, Speech-Language Pathologist and Feeding Specialist
blaire@collaborativecorner.org

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