Halloween: Trick or treating etiquette?
In helping our 10-year-old daughter with autism navigate life's challenges, my husband and I rely on three Ps: preparation, practice and positive reinforcement. (A fourth P, prayer, never hurts, either.) A few years ago, we applied these principles to my favorite day, Halloween. Paige had always dressed up, marched in her school's costume parade and skipped around the neighborhood on Halloween night.
Of course, we'd had our share of mishaps: bolting into homes the minute the door opened; darting into the darkened street; grabbing fistfuls of candy from neighbors' treat bowls. Those behaviors I wanted gone in favor of good manners and proper etiquette, like ringing the doorbell (once!) without any prompting and saying "trick or treat" at the appropriate time.
Read more of Lisa Martin's column in today's Family section.