Halloween can often top Christmas as our kids’ favourite celebration, but for many neurodiverse children it can also bring sensory overload, sleep disruption, and emotional strain. The event seems to get bigger every year: more lights on houses, bigger and bolder decorations, and buckets of sweets. For many families, it’s a day of laughter and fancy dress. But for those of us raising neurodiverse children, Halloween can be more “tricky” than “treat”.For years, we avoided it altogether. Our child, with a busy ADHD brain and vivid imagination, struggled to switch off from all the spooky sights and sounds.The line between reality and fantasy blurred, and bedtime became a battle. It wasn’t just about fear – it was the emotional exhaustion that lingered for days.Even a Halloween costume could spark weeks of bedtime anxiety. The sensory overload, the late nights, and the effects of sugar all added up to a full system meltdown.Why Halloween can be challenging for neurodiverse childrenResearch shows that neurodiverse children often develop executive function skills about a third more slowly than their neurotypical peers. That means a six-year-old might regulate emotions more like a