Christian Coates is only 7 but he knew the significance of the harvest party he attended Sunday at the Schilter Family Farm in Olympia.
“It’s a really fun place for kids with autism,” he said. “We’re here to celebrate in a safe place for kids.”
It was the second year that Talk About Curing Autism hosted the Halloween festivities so families with autistic kids could enjoy the holiday without the normal stress of trick-or-treating.
Most autistic children have special dietary needs and can’t eat the candy handed out for Halloween. Others experience sensory overload with the darkness, noise and scary costumes and opt to stay home.
But in a wooden barn at the pumpkin patch, all cookies and lollipops were dairy and gluten free. An arts and crafts corner, bounce house and hay maze sweetened the pot.
Costumes were optional and the party wrapped up by 2 p.m. so darkness wasn’t an issue.
Merrily and Don Burbank drove their children from Yelm to participate. Their 7-year-old autistic son, Dawson, dressed up as Luigi from Super Mario Bros. He didn’t speak much during the party, but seemed to be having fun running and playing with his brother and friends in the barn.
“This is somewhere we don’t have to worry about what people think of our children’s behavior,” Merrily Burbank said. “We feel accepted. We’re normal here.”
About 300 people pre-registered for the event and co-organizer Denise Fulton said 250 attended.
This was the second year the organization had thrown a harvest party and Fulton said this year’s attendance numbers might have increased because school districts helped spread word of the event. Parents taste-tested gluten-free goodies and read brochures about treatment programs while the kids played and squealed with laughter.
Black cats wandering in and out of the barn were a major hit with the children, one of whom set out building a home for them out of a cardboard box.
Even kids who might have been too shy to meet new people benefit form the event, organizers said.
“It’s always good for them to be in social settings, to see other kids’ social behaviors,” said Diana Burke, who usually avoids social situations for the well-being of her two autistic sons.
She skipped church Sunday morning in Shelton so she could bring her boys to the harvest party. Toward the end, they were clutching their father’s hands and watching the whirlwind of activity around them.
As Fulton stood watching the kids play and the parents share stories, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Families affected by autism tend to feel isolated, like they can’t go anywhere,” she said. “This creates a community.”
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8426
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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