Halloween for All! The NCA Guide for serving customers with disabilities Text by Ed Avis Illustrations by Daniela Rojas
Thank You!
We
1 Halloween for all!
are g ratefu l to o ur gene ro u s spo nsor s w ho ma de the Hallo ween for All prog ram possible! Also thank yo u to Lawrence Carte r -Lo ng, Dire ctor of DisCo ur se & Develo pm ent for DisArt, for h is insig htfu l gui dance o n the Hallo ween for All proje ct.
ween is a tim e w hen peo ple like to take o n a diffe rent pe r so na, sho w off in fro nt of othe r s, an d gene rally let lo ose an d have fun. For peo ple w ith disabilitie s, Hallo ween m eans the sam e th ing. It is a tim e w hen they can be w ho m eve r they want to be.
Costu m e sho p o w ne rs are in a g reat positio n to help cu sto m e rs w ith disabilitie s succee d in their Hallo ween costu m e g oals, an d parents of ch ildren w ith disabilitie s w ill be happy for the help. Being pre pare d to help cu sto m e r s w ith disabilitie s w ill sho w that yo ur sho p is in tune w ith the entire co mmun ity. Embracing the NCA’s Hallo ween for All co nce pt is a bu sine ss de cisio n an d a so cial de cisio n.
By embracing the NCA Hallo ween for All co nce pt, yo u w ill sho w yo ur co m mun ity that yo u care abo ut all re si dents an d are available to help eve r yo ne reach their Hallo ween dreams. This gui de is publishe d an d co pyr ig hte d by the Natio nal Costu m e rs Associatio n, 2022 . All r ig hts re se r ve d. Ho weve r, NCA m embe rs may repro duce parts as nee de d.
halloween for all! 2 Introduction Hallo
Creativity is at the heart of se r ving any cu sto m e r w ith special nee ds. Be pre pare d to co nsi de r diffe rent type s of fabr ic; var io u s ways to fasten a gar m ent; de coratio ns for w heelchair s or walke r s; an d/or acce ssor ie s an d makeup that can co mplete a lo ok. The creativity yo u’ll emplo y w ith a cu sto m e r w ith a disability is the sam e yo u alrea dy u se w hen facing any costu ming challenge, but potentially w ith the a d de d challenge that the cu sto m e r is unable to wear a typical costu m e.
fir st ste p in se r ving a cu sto m e r w ith a disability is basic: Ask them w hat they ’ re lo oking for. Then ask w hat limitatio ns, if any, the pe r so n has regarding that costu m e. Starting the pro ce ss w ith a co nve r satio n sho ws the cu sto m e r that yo u are rea dy to acco m mo date their nee ds. An d, of co ur se, it w ill help yo u fin d the i deal costu m e.
Start with a Conversation
The
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sto m e r s w ith physical disabilitie s may nee d costu m e s that are easily fastene d such as w ith velcro or drape d like a po ncho. They may also prefe r lo ose-fitting, large r size costu m e s that do n’t “hug” their skin. Fortunately, many man ufacture r s n o w make XXL an d XXXL ve r sio ns of many of their costu m e s; sto cking the se w ill help yo u acco m mo date cu sto m e r s w ho nee d a lo ose fit an d those w ho are large. An othe r way to acco m mo date cu sto m e r s w ho are n ot able
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Physical Disabilities
Cu
Peo ple w ho u se cr utche s may want to incor porate them into a costu m e. For example, they co u ld wear an an imal costu m e, an d de corate the cr utche s to lo ok like the fro nt leg s of that an i mal, so w hen they walk w ith the cr utche s they be co m e a fo ur legge d characte r.
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to wear typical for m-fitting costu m e s is to car r y a large sto ck of acce ssor ie s that can be u se d to create a costu m e co nce pt w itho ut the actual costu m e. Hats, belts, scar ve s, wan ds, weapo ns, jewelr y, sh ields…the list of acce ssor ie s like that is en dle ss.
An othe r o ptio n for a cu sto m e r in a w heelchair is to create a “table” o n the fro nt of the chair, so the pe r so n can dre ss up like a chef, DJ, mag ician, or any othe r characte r that u se s a flat surface as a workspace.
Cu sto m e r s w ith physical disabilitie s that do n ot require them to u se a w heelchair still may cho ose to incor porate the disability into the costu m e. For example, a cu sto m e r w ith a missing ar m co u ld “ re place” the ar m w ith a weapo n an d be co m e a cy borg; or that in divi dual co u ld dre ss up like a zo mbie an d car r y a fake ar m in h is han d, as if he ju st tore it off. So m eo ne w ith a missing leg co u ld be co m e a peglegge d pirate.
Peo ple w ho u se w heelchair s may want to incor porate the chair itself in their costu m e. For example, they may cho ose to de corate the chair so it lo oks like a car or othe r veh icle, such as the Bat mobile or a steam sho vel; a thro ne or castle; or an an imal, such as a din osaur. Yo u may be able to acco m mo date those o ptio ns w ith cosplay supplie s, such as mo deling co mpo un d, th in foam sheets, colore d poste rboard, an d othe r craft supplie s.
Cu
Sensitivity Issues
sto m e r s w ho have sensitivity issue s, such as those o n the autism spe ctr u m, may be se r ve d by car r ying a sto ck of h ig h quality costu m e s in var ying type s of fabr ic.
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In a d ditio n to fabr ic type, in divi duals w ith sensor y relate d disorde r s may n ot want a tig ht costu m e, or they may be more co mfortable w ith a costu m e that can be easily remo ve d. If yo u
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cann ot fin d such costu m e s fro m man ufacture r s, an d yo u ’ re a capable sewe r, kee p a supply of velcro an d butto ns o n han d to co nve rt a regu lar costu m e into o ne that is lo ose r an d can be quickly remo ve d.
So m e cu sto m e r s may want to portray a characte r w ho typically wear s a mask, but wo u ld prefe r n ot to have so m eth ing to uch ing their face. In those case s, o ne o ptio n is to affix the mask to a lo ng stick, so the pe r so n can hold it up to he r face w itho ut it actually to uch ing.
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Other Disabilities
a d ditio n to in divi duals w ith physical an d sensor y-relate d disabilitie s, yo u may be aske d to se r ve cu sto m e r s w ho have othe r issue s. For example, cu sto m e r s w ith hear ing disabilitie s may seek a costu m e w ith an o pen face an d o pen han ds, so they can rea d lips an d see each othe r talk. Ch ildren w ith se r io u s alle rg ie s may also have costu ming co nce r ns. Latex, for example, can cau se se r io u s problems for
In
Yo u may even be able to help ch ildren w ith fo o d alle rg ie s fin d a costu m e that helps them avo i d problems. A costu m e w ith glo ve s, for example, can help ch ildren avo i d to uch ing alle rgens. If the ch ild is old en o ug h to self-car r y their auto e pine phr ine inje ctor, yo u may want to sugge st a costu m e w ith a po cket for that.
so m e peo ple, so be sure yo u kn o w the basic co mpo nents of yo ur costu m e s so yo u can stee r latex-sensitive cu sto m e r s away fro m those costu m e s.
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Rem embe r, embracing the NCA Hallo ween for All co ncept w ill sho w yo ur co m munity that yo u care abo ut all re si dents an d are available to help eve r yo ne reach their Hallo ween dreams.
Also put o ut a call o n yo ur so cial m e dia, an d thro ug h the so cial m e dia of co m mun ity g ro ups, for favor ite costu m e hacks for peo ple w ith disabilitie s. Create a hashtag an d share the i deas o n yo ur so cial m e dia. Peo ple lo ve shar ing their i deas!
succee d w ith cu sto m e r s w ith disabilitie s th is Hallo ween,
Co ntact the lea de r s of such g ro ups in yo ur co m mun ity an d explain that yo ur sho p welco m e s in divi duals w ith disabilitie s seeking Hallo ween costu m e s. Pe r haps sugge st a worksho p in yo ur store for in divi duals w ith that particu lar disability. Yo u co u ld co nfir m beforehan d w ith the lea de r w hat costu m e limitatio ns an d nee ds the in divi duals may have so yo u can be pre pare d for the event.
yo u’ll nee d to let them kn o w that yo ur sho p is a re so urce for them. A g reat way to do that is to collaborate w ith othe r organ izatio ns se r ving the disability co m mun ity, such as support g ro ups, ph ilanthro pie s, spe cial scho ols, clubs, etc.
Finally, infor m yo ur lo cal m e dia abo ut w hat yo u are do ing. Helping peo ple w ith disabilitie s fin d costu m e s is a g reat lo cal news stor y dur ing the Hallo ween seaso n. M ost TV statio ns, newspape r s, an d news web site s have o nline stor y i dea submissio n for ms that are easy to u se. Once the lo cal m e dia re port w hat yo u ’ re do ing, word w ill sprea d quickly.
Collaborate and Promote
To
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Thank You, Sponsors!
Halloween for all!