By: Emeily Flyr

The time has come, spooky season! October has finally made it’s long anticipated arrival with all it has to offer. Air is crisp, leaves are changing colors by the minute, pumpkin flavored everything, and finally, the long awaited day, Halloween. 

Halloween for me has always looked different than the “average” abled-bodied spooky experience. Because of my disability, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a progressive disease which weakens my muscles over time, taking my ability to walk, I’ve always found myself struggling with being included in this holiday. Whether that be from looking for costumes that would accommodate the size of my wheelchair, finding safe routes with sidewalk ramps, or navigating through the busy streets of candy craving kiddos. 

Years ago, on the 31st  of October, you could find me in my hot pink wheelchair wearing my Harry Potter robes with a poorly drawn lightning scar upon my face. I specifically remember being forced to wait on the sides of the streets, as the sidewalk was full of children, waiting for my friends to collect the delectable treats I’ve waited for all year. Of course, homeowners would question my friends holding two bags for candy. “This one is for my friend, this one is for me” they said. People would  often  assume my friend was fibbing in order to obtain more candy. Though that could be a clever tactic, my friends would then point to me, sitting alone, patiently in my wheelchair, as groups of kids brushed up against my chair running carelessly throughout the streets. 

I grew up with the mindset that as a result of my power chair, participating in activities alongside my peers would be, at times, challenging or just simply impossible. This concept in my mind became clearer and more apparent around specific  events and holidays, one being Halloween. Everything from trick-or-treating, haunted houses, parties, escape rooms, and nearly every other Halloween related activity is often created without disabled people in mind. 

Lack of accessibility is the number one factor contributing to people with disabilities not being able to take part in the celebration of this spooky holiday, and as a result of my wheelchair, there were obstacles that limited me from having the Halloween every other child craves. 

Long flights of stairs are not the only obstacle disabled people face on Halloween. Even the smallest stair on a doorstep can prevent people with disabilities from experiencing the Halloween everyone desires. In addition, countless amounts of restless children aimlessly  wandering the streets and blocking off sidewalk entrances and ramps contribute to the inaccessible environment on Halloween.

Though now I’m older, I’ve had to accept the lack of inclusivity during this specific holiday as a normalcy, and throughout the years have learnt different ways to enjoy the spookiest of seasons. Due to inaccessibility being the scariest part of Halloween, for me at least, I found myself  watching movies, listening to halloween music, or obviously, eating candy. 

However, every single year, many disabled children experience the same thing I did for so many years, the feeling of being in a world in which everything is not made to include you. 

Yes, I know, what a first-world problem, and I’m fully aware of how absolutely unrealistic it is to request that every homeowner obtain a ramp. However, that isn’t the big idea. Disabled people are left out on more than just Halloween activities. Why is this you might be wondering? Because some people assume that disabled people would rather stay at home, and fall into the whole  “not fun at parties” stereotype. This is a direct result of our society’s normalization of not recognizing accessibility, or lack thereof.

Over the past years, various companies are paying attention to the disabled community by manufacturing more costumes which are adaptable for disabled individuals. This is a step in the right direction of inclusion, but we also need to engage in the fact Halloween is more than just looking the part.

Being able to actually participate in these festivities, like trick-or-treating, would be game changing for the disabled community.  People can totally contribute to this inclusion by engaging in small things, like setting up candy stations on their driveways, or making sure cars aren’t blocking the paths to sidewalks that a wheelchair would need in order to access the door as closely as possible. Small contributions such as these make a big difference.

 People view accessible costume designs as an amazing start, something revolutionary that companies are doing. And in some ways, it is, but it isn’t going above and beyond, it’s giving to disabled children what able-bodied children naturally have, access to costumes. But looking like Cinderella doesn’t exactly get you to the ball. Many disabled children are still left out of being able to trick-or-treat, which is what makes Halloween such a fun and iconic holiday in the first place. Costumes are the bare minimum. Not being able to participate in actively wearing them and engaging in gathering with our friends on this holiday is the bigger problem. As creative and spectacular as these costumes can be, without advocating for inclusivity, you’re spreading the message of , “Yes! You can look the part for this day, but no, we aren’t going to be giving you the help you need to actually fully participate in it.” 

The disabled community is often an afterthought when it comes to most things. Various parts of daily life are even inaccessible. Everything from trying to swipe your card at the grocery store, door automatic push buttons, shopping carts, and even more present inaccessibility. When we finally get the attention and representation from these big companies, the focus is shifted from what the real challenges are. Companies need to push for inclusion for us to actually participate in Halloween. 

Disabled kids like myself should be able to grow up without the idea that their participation in Halloween is less important than able-bodied kids. Every obstacle and encounter that a child encounters is extremely influential on their lives as a whole. Having a more engaging and inclusive environment for disabled children to participate in is fundamental for their outlook on life. I learned this from first hand experience.

Every small step the average person chooses to take to make the disabled community feel more included brings us closer to the giving disabled people access to equal experiences they deserve. Monsters and jump-scares may be scary and all, but the fact we have to advocate to participate in the simplest of festivities such as Trick-or-Treating is a little bit scarier.