Disability Service Announcement: Blue Pumpkins

Happy Halloween! What's scarier than trick or treaters being denied candy? Ableism. And probably finding Freddy Krueger in your closet but today's episode is only covering the ableism behind the Blue Pumpkin buckets movement creeping its way across social media. 

 Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

Transcript

 

Boris: Happy Halloween to all you ghouls, goblins, creepies and crawlies from your friends at the Access Aisle. I’m Boris Klaric and it is my solemn duty to prepare you for the frights that await you for this year’s Halloween festivities. That’s right listeners – there is something going on in your neighborhood. And I’m not talking about that one house down the street that always gives out toothbrushes and floss – oh no no no. I’m talking about the fear that’s turning small town America’s pumpkins blue. Take it away local news clip.

Local News Clip: You may be seeing some blue pumpkins mixed in with the traditional orange this year. Blue pumpkin candy buckets are meant to raise awareness that a child or a teenager may have Autism and in some cases may be nonverbal so they may not be able to say the traditional Halloween line “Trick or treat”. A mom from Hawaii posted what she calls her Blue Bucket Message on Facebook, saying her 3 year old has Autism and is nonverbal. Last year candy givers waited for him to say “Trick or treat” in order to get a piece of candy and she had to keep stepping in to explain. This year she hopes the blue buckets will be an automatic message to people.     

Boris: There’s a lot to unwrap here with a very slim chance of a nougat center but let’s start at the origin. A mom whose 3 year old had trouble saying "Trick or Treat" at the age of 2 and felt inconvenienced by how often she had to volunteer her child’s disability to strangers in order to get free candy from them. Since when are we expecting 2 year olds to be able to trick or treat on their own or understand the economics of how costume investment impacts chocolate returns? Is this town in Hawaii so engulfed in the traditions of Halloween that they’re throwing lit jack o lanterns at kids that don’t utter the sacred three word phrase in order to get their pharmacy brand candy? If it’s neither of these things than it’s probably just another media-fueled opportunity for people without disabilities to take insignificant action on behalf of people with disabilities with no actual thought for what those people want. While this isn’t really an example of inspiration porn – it follows the same ableist recipe of focusing on the deficits of the disability and completely excluding the disability community’s input. It’s an opportunity for people without disabilities to do something they can congratulate themselves for but doesn’t actually do anything good for the disability community. Much in the same way that hating candy corn is not a personality – picking up any old cause that comes across your timeline does not make you an effective advocate. Lets keep it real: children with Autism do face unique challenges. Studies have shown that kids with Autism are significantly more likely to experience bullying than their peers. Making a vulnerable population wear something that identifies them as vulnerable has literally never been a good idea in the entirety of human history and has often times been a first step to even more problems being forced upon those populations. If you want to help a child who has trouble with verbal communication get some free candy there are other more effective means than singling them out. First, if you’re the responsible adult travelling with the kids, you could just say “Trick or Treat” for them. You could make a sign with “Trick or Treat” written on it and give it to kids who are nonverbal, shy, or just straight up don’t want to talk to strangers for the sake of a fun size Snickers. And for the candy givers – if a group of children comes to your door on the evening of October 31^st, they’re not there to get your response for the census or ask about your satisfaction with your internet service provider. They want some candy. Give the kids some candy and go back to your Nightmare Before Christmas sing along DVD.