A Meaningful and Accessible Halloween for Children with Visual Impairments

Halloween is a favorite day of the year for many children—candy, costumes, and fall activities, how could it not be?! Your child with a visual impairment can be easily included in all things Halloween and activities leading up to Halloween. Here are a few ideas.

Trick-or-Treating

A kid dressed up as a clown for Halloween holding a bag for trick-or-treating

If you choose to participate in trick or treating in your neighborhood or to attend a local community Trunk or Treat, your child may want to dress up. When picking out a costume, remember your child’s preferences and how some costumes present sensory issues. There are many creative ways to incorporate a cane or wheelchair into your child’s costume. If your child has low vision, you may want to avoid masks or costumes that limit vision. For children with vision that is reduced in low lighting, try carrying an extra flashlight or lantern.

Apple Picking

An orchard provides children a natural environment to learn more about the process of how food makes its way to the table. Children can pick apples and determine if an apple is ready to be picked. Some may use the color to tell the ripeness, but you can determine that an apple is ripe by how easily the apple is picked off the tree.

Collecting Leaves

As the leaves change and fall to the ground, your family may enjoy gathering leaves and comparing them. Your child can assist in raking and jumping in the piles of crunchy, crisp leaves. Next, take a few leaves indoors and create a Halloween sensory craft such as wreath.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin patches are the perfect opportunity to catch those adorable photos of children. They also provide an opportunity for children to explore the different sizes and types of pumpkins. After exploring, children can pick the perfect pumpkin and practice making a purchase.

Carving Pumpkins

Depending on your child’s age, you can determine their level of involvement. Assisting in scooping out the guts of the pumpkin provides a new sensory experience for most children. Your child could assist by providing the idea or a drawing of what they would like to have carved on the pumpkin. After carving your pumpkin, you may want to let your child play with the pumpkin guts and make a sensory activity with them. You could roast the seeds with your child or use the pumpkin for a baking project. If you choose not to carve your pumpkin, your child could decorate it with puffy paint, tacky glue and googly eyes, or wrap it like a mummy.

A little boy wearing a red shirt laying on his back looking up at the camera, playing with corn kernels

Getting Lost in a Corn Maze

Corn mazes can be a fun way to get outside with the entire family. The terrain can be uneven, so it would be advisable to slow down and use constant contact if using a cane. Students can trail along the cornstalks locating the twists and turns. The corn maze would be a great opportunity to reinforce orientation and mobility skills.


Happy Halloween from FamilyConnect! Feel free to share ideas or experiences that your family enjoys.

Additional Halloween Tips and Suggestions for Children with Visual Impairments

Trick-or-Treating as an Orientation and Mobility Lesson!

Halloween Fun with Pumpkin Spice Playdough!

Inspired by the Holidays: Take an "Autumn Walk" and Encourage Your Child Who Is Blind or Visually Impaired to Discover the Sights, the Smells, and the Feel of Fall