There are two sides to every pumpkin, but the heart of the matter remains the same: inclusion for our kids.
With Halloween festivities right around the corner, we want to take an opportunity to address the significance of the blue pumpkin that you might see children carry as they trick-or-treat.
Just as the teal pumpkin was created to call attention to children with food allergies, the blue pumpkin is designed as a symbol of autism meant to signify that a person trick-or-treating may require specific or different needs.
There are two sides to the blue pumpkin. Some families like the idea of the blue bucket, while others feel that it calls unnecessary attention to their child on an occasion that is supposed to be inclusive of everyone.
At BlueSprig Pediatrics, we see the blue pumpkin as a positive gesture that shines a light on the inclusion and acceptance of all children. We also agree that kids with autism shouldn’t have to carry a blue pumpkin if they don’t want to. We feel that any symbol created by our community shares a common thread: they demonstrate families’ passion for celebrating their children and their unique differences.
Our team supports the acceptance of every child and realizes there may be some reasons why a child does not say “trick-or-treat” or receive a piece of candy. Or maybe they have anxiety about going up to a door to knock or ring the doorbell. It does not matter as we believe all children should be accepted, celebrated, and loved.
Whether our ASD kids are carrying an orange, blue or rainbow pumpkin, we hope our community will embrace the idea of acceptance for all children this Halloween and do away with labels regardless of the color of their trick-or-treat pumpkins.
This Halloween, we encourage you to do what is best for your family and what makes you the most comfortable. Maybe that’s going door-to-door in advance or recreating the trick-or-treat tradition within your home. Whatever it is you choose to do, we hope you have fun.
Sincerely,
Your friends at BlueSprig Pediatrics
BlueSprig Pediatrics has the mission of changing the world for children with autism. They are laser-focused on providing individualized, high-quality ABA therapy for children needing this specialized therapy.