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Mom urges use of blue Halloween buckets to raise autism awareness

AGXStarseed

Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)

A mom looking to make her son's Halloween a better experience has made an impact on tens of thousands of people. Omairis Taylor posted about her 3-year-old son on Facebook, explaining that he has nonverbal autism and trick-or-treating has been difficult for them in the past.

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Image Source: 'Blue Pumpkins' raising autism awareness on Halloween

Last year, she said, she had to explain at every house for five blocks that her son was not going to say "trick or treat" because he is nonverbal. "This year we will be trying the BLUE BUCKET to signify he has autism," she wrote.

"Please allow him (or any other person with a BLUE BUCKET) to enjoy this day and don't worry I'll still say TRICK OR TREAT for him, ill get my mom candy tax later," the post continued. "This holiday is hard enough without any added stress. Thank you in advance."

Taylor shared a photo of a traditional pumpkin-shaped Halloween candy bucket that was a bright electric blue. She also added a "P.S." to her Facebook post: "I have made this post public in hopes you will share and get the BLUE BUCKET message out there for Autism Awareness this Halloween."

My son is 3 years old and has autism. He is nonverbal. Last year houses will wait for him to say TRICK OR TREAT in order...

Posted by Omairis Taylor on Sunday, October 13, 2019

Taylor's plan seems to have worked — the post was shared over 120,000 times. Countless people are now informed that children with blue Halloween buckets may be non-verbal, or may have difficulty trick-or-treating. While Taylor helped raise awareness about blue buckets, this Halloween tip isn't brand new.

Last year, Autism Speaks also recommended children with autism use blue buckets, sharing the story of a 21-year-old with autism who loves to trick-or-treat.

"Trick or Treat....the BLUE BUCKET...if you see someone who appears to be an adult dressed up to trick or treat this...

Posted by Autism Speaks on Tuesday, October 30, 2018
"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!" a mother named Alicia Plumer wrote. "His name is BJ & he is autistic. While he has the body of a 21 year old, he loves Halloween. Please help us keep his spirit alive & happy. So when you see the blue bucket share a piece of candy. Spread awareness! These precious people are not too big to trick or treat."

Autism Speaks's repost of Plumer's message was shared nearly 20,000 times. The group also offers advice on its website to help make Halloween fun for everyone.

Another organization has also used brightly colored pumpkins to help children who may have difficulty celebrating Halloween. The Teal Pumpkin Project is a campaign initiated by the non-profit organization Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE).

"With one in 13 kids having a food allergy here in the U.S., chances are that one of these kids lives right down your block," said FARE's Nancy Gregory.

Inspired by efforts in an east Tennessee town, the Teal Pumpkin Project encourages people to paint a pumpkin teal — an aqua-blue hue — or download and print a free sign to place outside of their house on Halloween and offer non-food treats such as stickers, light sticks, or brightly colored bracelets. That way, kids with food allergies and their parents will know there's Halloween treat they can enjoy at those homes.



Source: Mom urges use of blue Halloween buckets to raise autism awareness
 
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I HATE Autism $peaks!!:mad:
People should be encouraged NOT to use a blue pumpkin or anything else blue for autism awareness. Autism $peaks is A HATE GROUP. Should be a #redpumpkininstead. For autism ACCEPTANCE.
 
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I HATE Autism $peaks!!:mad:
People should be encouraged NOT to use a blue pumpkin or anything else blue for autism awareness. Autism $peaks is A HATE GROUP. Should be a #redpumpkininstead. For autism ACCEPTANCE.

Would you tell me about Autism Speaks? I think I have heard that people do not like them but I do not know the reasons why.

Thank you
 
I HATE Autism $peaks!!:mad:
People should be encouraged NOT to use a blue pumpkin or anything else blue for autism awareness. Autism $peaks is A HATE GROUP. Should be a #redpumpkininstead. For autism ACCEPTANCE.
Huh, didn't notice them being mentioned. Bummer.
 
I’m guessing most people won’t understand what a blue bucket means, so the spreading of awareness through such an action would be minimal, I think. But what do I know, my country doesn’t even celebrate Halloween. We do have an old tradition which predates trick-or-treating: on November 11th children go door to door in the evening with homemade lanterns, singing songs in exchange for candy, fruit or a little money. It’s a celebration of Saint Martin of Tours. Anyway, kids don’t use buckets for that, usually just tote bags.
 
I've heard/read a lot of autistic advocates saying NOT to do this, for a couple reasons (allow me to paraphrase):

1) It's generally not a good idea to advertise a kid's differing neurology; that makes them vulnerable to bullying etc.

2) The kid may not be OK with their parent advertising their neurology. Kids have agency and they may not want their parent broadcasting the fact that they're autistic all over the neighborhood (or social media!)

3) The whole Autism Speaks thing.

4) The fact that blue is dangerously close to teal in low light situations, and muddies the waters around the Teal Pumpkin Project, which could pose a hazard for someone with a life threatening food allergy.

If you Google "autism blue pumpkin" or something of the like, there are a ton of blog posts written by autistic self-advocates begging people not to do this.

I have no children and my ideal trick-or-treating involves mini bottles of liquor *grins* I have no dog in this fight.
 
I have no children and my ideal trick-or-treating involves mini bottles of liquor *grins* I have no dog in this fight.
For our local celebration with children going door to door, we always had a large pan of hot mulled wine and a plate of deep fried snacks for the parents walking along. Needless to say, our house was always incredibly popular among the parents ;)
 

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