Especially for children, Halloween can be one of the most exciting days of the year. Dressing up in an exciting costume, having the chance to stay up late trick-or-treating with friends and then hurrying home to eat as much candy as possible before mom and dad say it’s time for bed. Unfortunately, however, for individuals living with a disability, celebrating Halloween can come with extra challenges that can put a damper on the day.

Thankfully, there are plenty of people around the world showing that having a disability should never stop a person from wearing whatever costume they want on Halloween. This list features brilliant costumes worn by kids and adults alike, so if you have a disability that made you wonder what to dress up as this year, hopefully you'll get some ideas right here! From incorporating wheelchairs to using prosthetics as props, these costumes make one thing very clear: Halloween is for everyone.

While Halloween is for people of all ages to celebrate, it can be particularly important to ensure that our little ones enjoy the occasion. So if your child has a disability, RedTreehouse.org has a helpful guide for parents to make sure that their kids can get the most out of the day. For kids that are wheelchair users, for example, they provide a few resources to help make Halloween more inclusive and accessible.  

According to Med Mart, if you’re taking your child trick-or-treating in their wheelchair, it’s always a good idea to practice the routine ahead of time. It will be nice to know how easy the path is to get around, especially in the dark when there are lots of other kids walking around. If many houses have staircases and it won’t be easy to get to their front doors, you might want to find the most wheelchair-friendly homes to visit. Even if there are challenges, it’s best to be aware of them prior to the big night to make everything as smooth as possible during the real trick-or-treating. The only thing on your child’s mind that evening should be having a great time.      

If you’re taking your child who uses a wheelchair trick-or-treating in your own neighborhood, Med Mart recommends letting your neighbors know ahead of time that your little one plans to be stopping by their homes. They might be willing to meet you at the end of their driveway or set their large basket of candy close to the curb to alleviate the stress of trying to get close to their doors and having to maneuver back to the sidewalk.

And if the experience of going back and forth from people’s doorsteps is just too stressful or challenging to navigate logistically, you can always seek alternatives for your child. Many places hold “trunk-or-treats” in large parking lots, where kids can go from car to car gathering goodies without having to worry about encountering steps or crossing busy roads. You can always throw a Halloween party or gathering of your own too, inviting all of your child’s closest friends. The important thing is that they enjoy the occasion; there’s nothing wrong with thinking outside the box in how you celebrate.

When it comes to making your Halloween more inclusive, one factor you might not have even considered is the decorations. And while I love smoke machines, fake cobwebs, and spiders and rats littered all over the floor as much as the next person, these decorations are not always conducive to every person's experience. If the path leading up to your home is extremely dark, requires maneuvering around a variety of props or your decorations limit visibility, you might be deterring people with disabilities from visiting, either children coming to trick-or-treat or your friends trying to stop by to deliver some goodies to you. Decorations with jump scares, loud noises and flashing lights can also be harmful for individuals with sensory sensitivities or epilepsy. Unless you warn people that they’re coming to a haunted house, try not to have any decorations that are too extreme.

As we all know, we cannot always tell that a person has a disability just by looking at them. Oftentimes, we would have no idea! But disabilities that have no visible cues can impact a person just as much as more obvious disabilities, so in 2018, one mother sought to find a way to help her son, who has autism, have an easier time on Halloween. Four years ago, Alicia Plumer posted a photo of a blue trick-or-treating bucket on Facebook with the caption, “If you see someone who appears to be an adult dressed up to trick-or-treat this year carrying this blue bucket, he’s our son! His name is BJ & he is autistic. While he has the body of a 21 year old, he loves Halloween.” This then sparked a trend of “Blue Buckets for Halloween”. 

Alicia’s post sharing her son’s blue Halloween bucket received lots of attention and has been shared to spread awareness about people with autism who may want to participate in Halloween just as much as everyone else, even if they have a hard time expressing it. “I believe it can be helpful, especially for the more severely affected kids who are nonspeaking, and for older kids who may appear to function at a lower cognitive age level,” writes Wendy Fournier on the National Autism Association’s site. “Some kids can’t say ‘trick or treat’ or ‘thank you’. They may not be able to make eye contact, and could also have sensory issues that prevent them from wearing an elaborate costume. For some kids and young adults with autism, there are a lot of challenges to overcome on Halloween, but like everyone else, they want to enjoy the fun and excitement of it.”

Another factor to take into consideration when choosing the Halloween goodies you plan to share with friends or trick-or-treaters is potential food allergies. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, in the United States alone, about 32 million people have food allergies, including about 5.6 million children. The most common foods people are allergic to are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish, so if you’re looking to pass out treats that will accommodate a variety of dietary needs or preferences, it might be wise to consult the Spokin app. Spokin breaks down all of the best candies and treats based on what allergens they are free from, so you can ensure that you or your loved ones can indulge freely without fretting about a frightening allergic reaction.     

According to Spokin, some of the best dairy free candies available to pass out or enjoy yourself this Halloween are Dum-Dums, Twizzlers, Sour Punch Straws, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids Watermelons, Jelly Bellys, Air Heads, Dots, Ring Pops and Smarties. If you’re looking for gluten-free candies, Spokin recommends York peppermint patties, Butterfingers, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Heath bars, Dots, Hi-Chews, Air Heads, and Tootsie rolls and pops. An allergy is no reason not to enjoy Halloween treats!    

We hope you’re enjoying this list of brilliant costumes, and if you or a loved one is living with a disability, we would love to hear your best ideas for Halloween costumes in the comments down below. Remember that if there’s anything you can do to make your Halloween celebrations more inclusive and accessible, it will be worth making the effort. Keep upvoting the pics you find most impressive, and then if you’d like to see even more, you can find Bored Panda’s previous articles on the same topic here and here.