Don’t know if this will be a thing yet in the Tampa area this Halloween, but I think it’s great. This Halloween if a child knocks on your door and is holding a blue bucket of candy, there’s a reason they didn’t go with the traditional orange. It’s part of an effort to help identify children with autism. Many of these kids are apprehensive about the trick-or-treating experience. The mom who posted the message below to Facebook said her 3 year old autistic son would encounter awkward moments because many waited to hand over candy until her son said “Trick or Treat.” Throughout the night, she had to explain that her son is autistic and this idea was born to help other parents avoid stress on what should be a fun night for all kids. Another parent mentioned how many teenage autistic kids who might seem too old to trick or treat at first glance will have the blue buckets as well. Good to know!

There was one criticism of this idea though that I noticed in the comments on this Facebook post. The reader said to some, blue buckets mean a child has food allergies.

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

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