Not everyone will understand what it’s like to go trick or treating with a child who is still learning to talk, but if you are prepared the day may go better than you expected and your child will have a lot of fun!

If you can, go with a group so it’s not obvious your child is still learning to talk. Practice what will happen before Halloween including wearing the costume, ringing the bell, saying, “trick or treat” and “thank you” or if your child is essentially nonverbal, use an alternative means of communication. Perhaps have the following taped to your child’s pumpkin. Click here for a full size version to print out.

Happy Halloween Stories

Below is advice from parents who have been there.

Scary Moment When A Child Answered The Door…

This happened to me and my Tanner when he was around 3 and a half with a complete stranger who happened to be a child that was also 3 years old. We were trick or treating and we were going from house to house where I would model each word and Tanner (alias purple Telly Tubby at the time) would attempt to repeat

“trick”=”ti”

“or”=”ah”

“treat”=”teet”

At most houses, the adults would smile and hand Tanner the candy. Then one house a child answered the door and asked us “Why can’t he talk?” and I said in as bubbly a voice as I could (while horrified inside) “Oh -he’s learning to talk still and he’s doing great” The catch phrase I highly recommend that works for almost any situation… well except this one.

The child then asked, as clear as a bell, “How old is he?” and I answered still smiling, and wondering where this child’s mother was, “He’s ‘only’ three” Quickly the child responded “Well I’m three and I can talk” so I quickly said “Well you are obviously very advanced for you age aren’t you!” Thankfully the mother then came to the door to shoo her son away just when the child started to inform us about all the other three-year-olds in his preschool that are able to talk. I couldn’t find a photo of Tanner is his Teletubby costume -but below is a screenshot of him in his M&M costume around the same time from when he was on Inside Edition for an apraxia segment.



A Bunch Is The Trick



We took our daughter with a bunch of friends and they said trick or treat so it didn’t matter that she didn’t say it. On a couple of houses where they were grouped together and my daughter got separated from them I was right with her and I’d prompt her to say it and hope she repeated it. She didn’t, but the people didn’t care. She hadn’t quite figured out to just hold the bag open for candy either. She had it bunched up so it was closed in one hand, and took whatever it was in her other hand. I’d have to remind her to put it in the bag. All people saw was a little kid trick or treating and just starting to get the hang of it. They didn’t care she didn’t talk.

A couple of time she did answer people when they asked her who she was dressed as, and I had to translate for her since it came out as “da-ra”. But a lot of the people understood she was saying Dora and that was great. Mostly she didn’t say anything, just stood there with her bag and smiled.

Too Shy To Halloween

Last year was the first year my son really went trick-or-treating. We went with our neighbors so it was a 4 year old, my son who has apraxia at 3 and a half, a ten month old and an 11 month old (all pulled in wagons). Each adult would hold a baby and the two older boys would race for the doorbell, but once the door was opened, they were both too shy to say anything so the adults said “Trick or Treat” and then the 4 y.o. said a very soft thank you and Justin did a sign language thank you. No explanations necessary except maybe a quick shrug and a “he’s still new at this – maybe next year.” They only lasted for 5 houses but had fun and no one reacted with anything but remarks about how cute they were.

Most people realize that young children can be very shy (communication disorder or not), especially when in awe of the process of Halloween. If you run into anyone with rude comments, you’ll know which houses to avoid next year. Or which ones to TP – just kidding! <wink> Hope you have a great time!

Free Halloween Speech Therapy

I have had 2 really great “improvements” with my son’s speech lately, that I had to share with others.

First, I believe Halloween can be great “free” speech therapy. I was SO nervous as to how he would approach Halloween this year. He did great last year, but now that I understand his apraxia and sensory issues…I thought that he would find this event tough to take.

On the contrary! My son loved going door to door on Sunday (in our town, we do trick-treating on the Sunday before Halloween during 1:00-4:00). He said “tick o teat” to the neighbors, which we practiced at length and my daycare provider gets credit for this…and then “a- you” for thank you when he got his candy. He never said any of this before. Not ONE person noticed a speech delay or that there was any issue with him! This also helped him to work with his “shyness” of strangers… and then he loved to pass out the candy to others at our house. He said “hi” and “bye” when passing out the candy. And, he responded to people asking what he was going to be for Halloween, which was “Tom” (Thomas the Tank) which he said very clearly. I am more excited over the fact that he just responded so naturally!

Then, last night…he wanted some of the millions of candy we now have in our house. He could say “candy” before any other word, so that was very intelligible, but last night, he said/signed, “I want candy”!

OK, this is our first official phrase! I don’t know if I am making too much out of this…or if it is the beginning of good things to come and more talking. My fingers are crossed!

That’s all for now, and for all of you who will be trick-treating soon, have fun!

Memories Of Last Halloween

On Halloween last year, my son couldn’t say trick-or-treat and just kind of stood there with his bag open while his brother said trick-or-treat for the two of them. Yesterday, he was the first one yelling out trick-or-treat as soon as the doors started to open. One person gave him a Tootsie-Pop and he took it and then told her really enthusiastically “Thanks! this is just what I was hoping I would get.” What else was heartwarming to see was that every person he spoke to that day, all total strangers, understood him. He was finally just like every other kid. It was amazing to watch and made me pause to think about just how far he has come. His biggest issue right now is probably motor planning of certain words, but even that is going very well. Fortunately, he has developed ways to work around it. For instance, if he can’t say “chocolate chip cookie” he’ll say “Mommy, can I have the round things that you gave me in a bowl for snack yesterday?”

I’m so thrilled with his progress. Holidays are especially amazing for me because it’s a specific time that I can remember from the year before how he was. I thought I’d share for all those mom’s who’s children couldn’t say trick-or-treat this year, there’s a good chance next year will be a different story.

Halloween Playdate

My son (3) has autism and could care less about candy and didn’t want to hold his pumpkin. but he did run up to the houses and knock or ring the bell. since he’s not verbal, he didn’t say anything, but every house he wanted to go in. and muscled his way into a neighbor house right past her and down the hall. so I had to run in for him. it’s a good thing I know her well.

So after being embarrassed, I started laughing. because what do you do when you knock on the door, you go in!!! I guess he thought we were going for playdates. he didn’t understand the concept of Halloween, but what a long way we have come from last year where he wouldn’t get out of the stroller and wouldn’t go to any houses. next year hopefully we’ll have a “trick or treat” from him.

Halloween Progress

I agree with someone else who wrote that holidays give us all a “touch-piece” in terms of measuring our children’s development. My son too had a great Halloween this year. Last year, we couldn’t get a costume that had a headpiece to it because of the sensory issues. (he was a really cute Native American without anything on his head and a great scarecrow at school without a hat). This year, he was a scarecrow again at school but actually wore a hat and a mask he made from construction paper. In the evening, he was the Wizard of TaDa! and wore a magician’s hat along with a cape that tied at his neck. Last year, we had to take him around in his stroller and carry him up steps at each house (he walked from the top of the step holding our hands to the door and wouldn’t press the doorbell at all). This year, we all walked – didn’t even take the stroller for insurance – about 5 whole blocks, going up staircases and pressing all the doorbells himself (we had to hold the bag of treats because it was getting too heavy for him). Last year there was not a chance he was going to say anything resembling Trick or Treat, or thank you or much of anything. This year, most amazingly, he said “Tri oh tea” at every door, “tak du” when he got his candy or treat (one guy gave out flashlights – pretty cool!), and “by-by” as we walked away. What a year!

Halloween Activities

Halloween Breakfast

I love The Dad Lab! Here is his super fun Halloween breakfast idea. I suggest some green or purple food coloring added to the drink. To make the breakfast go from healthy to superior nutrition, shake up some water with a scoop of the food product I helped formulate -IQed -milk and food coloring are optional! Science geek fact! Red Cabbage can be used as a pH indicator and since eggs are basic, they change green!!!

Teal Pumpkin Project

Are you looking for alternative non-candy ideas for Halloween?

Halloween Song Sung To The Tune Of The Wheels On The Bus

Maybe practice the following song to get ready for trick or treating!

The cat in the house says “Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

The cat in the house says “Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

On Halloween.

The owl in the house says “Who Who Who!”

“Who Who Who!”

“Who Who Who!”

The owl in the house says “Who Who Who!”

On Halloween.

The spider in the house says “Spin! Spin! Spin!”

“Spin! Spin! Spin!”

“Spin! Spin! Spin!”

The spider in the house says “Spin! Spin! Spin!”

On Halloween.

The ghost in the house says “Boo! Boo! Boo!”

“Boo! Boo! Boo!”

“Boo! Boo! Boo!”

The ghost in the house says“Boo! Boo! Boo!”

On Halloween.

The kid in the house says! “Trick or Treat!”

“Trick or Treat!”

“Trick or Treat!”

The Kid in the house says “Trick or Treat!”

On Halloween.

Pick A Pumpkin Halloween Play

NASA “Spooky Sounds From Space”

Spitzer Spies ‘Galactic Ghoul’

A “monster” lurking behind a blanket of cosmic dust is unveiled in this Halloween image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Resembling a ghoul with two hollow eyes and a screaming mouth, this masked cloud of newborn stars was uncovered by Spitzer’s heat-seeking infrared eyes. Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech

Stare at the photo for a few seconds for a scary surprise!

LISA GENG

Author and Executive Director at The Cherab Foundation at

Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor, and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of her young children, he entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies, and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation, co-author of the acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and is instrumental in the development of IQed, a whole food nutrition meal replacement. Lisacurrently serves as a parent advocate on an AAN board for vaccines, and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.