Everyone loves to talk about the great Halloween costumes that they see. Whether a child with language delays is handing out the candy or beating the pavement to get the Trick-or-Treat loot, Halloween is the perfect time to build expressive language skills.
Naming Halloween Costumes Builds Vocabulary Skills
Ask the child what the costume is. Simple identification of costumes allows lots of speech practice. The categories of labels are endless. The child will have opportunity to identify foods, animals, and people (everything from princesses to TV characters and super heroes). This is a helpful skill for children with any kind of language delay (autism, Down syndrome, hearing loss).
Use More Specific Questions to Expand Language
Costumes always lend themselves to additional questions. Expanding on verbal communication is important for many children with special needs. Consider the classic clown costume. The following questions could be used to elicit speech from the child with language delays.
- What is he?
- What color hair does he have?
- What color is his nose?
- Is he happy or sad?
- What kind of clothes is he wearing?
- Are his shoes big or small?
The same patterns can be used to discuss other costumes as well. Perhaps a princess comes to the door.
- What is she?
- She has a beautiful dress. What color is it?
- Is her dress long or short?
- Do you like her pretty hair?
- Is she wearing tennis shoes or dress up shoes?
- What is she wearing on her head?
Prior to the Trick-or-Treating, plan the kinds of questions to ask. It is okay if some of the questions are used again and again. Perhaps there are several clowns. Each may have a different color hair or different kinds of clothing. All children learn from repetition and practice. However, it is particularly important for the child with special needs.
Make a Halloween Scrapbook to Show the Speech Teacher
Scrapbooking is very popular. Halloween costumes are the perfect subject for a child-friendly scrapbook. Use costume pictures of the child as well as his siblings and friends. Share the scrapbook with the child’s speech therapist. The questions and answers will be a wonderful opportunity to practice the targeted IEP goals.
It is important for Halloween to be fun. That is the purpose of the celebration. However, the chance to encourage speech and the give and take of conversation is very important for the child with a communication disorder. Use the opportunity at hand as well as a scrapbook to practice Halloween words and language again and again.
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