Sensory Friendly Trick-Or-Treating at Resonate: How Accesible Events Increase Belonging
Accessible Events Create More Room for Belonging
Community events are often designed around a single idea of what participation should look like: arriving on time, following the same sequence as everyone else, tolerating a busy environment, speaking in expected ways, maintaining a particular volume, not stimming, and staying for the full event.
This can be challenging for some people, whether they have a diagnosis or otherwise. Masking in order to make an event a ‘success’ is also harmful, with long-term mental health consequences supported by research.
At Resonate Music Therapy, we believe that meaningful inclusion begins when events are designed with access, flexibility, communication, and autonomy in mind from the start. A sensory-friendly event is not a separate, lesser, or truncated version of a community experience! It is an event that recognizes that everyone deserves the opportunity to participate in ways that feel safe, supported, and authentic to them. There are tangible ways to support all kinds of folks at your event, which we’ll unpack in this blog post.
Our annual Sensory-Friendly Trick-or-Treating event is one example of this commitment—but the principles behind it matter at every community gathering and can be applied to events you may host, from a simple family gathering to a large work event.
Inclusion Is More Than Attendance
Being invited to an event is important, but being able to participate comfortably and authentically is what makes that invitation meaningful.
For some people, community events can involve a great deal of sensory, social, communication, and emotional demand. Crowds, unfamiliar environments, unexpected changes, loud sounds, lighting, costumes, long lines, food restrictions, pressure to interact, or uncertainty about what will happen next can make an event feel inaccessible rather than enjoyable.
That does not mean an individual is unwilling to participate. It just means the environment may not yet be meeting their access needs.
When we build adaptive supports into an event, we make room for more people to engage in ways that work for them. This can include:
Clear information about what to expect before arrival
Flexible arrival, departure, and participation times
Quiet spaces or opportunities to take a break
Sensory tools and lower-stimulation options
Visual supports, maps, schedules, or stories
Multiple ways to communicate and participate
Food, treat, or activity options that account for dietary needs
Physical accessibility and room for mobility devices
Staff and volunteers who welcome different communication and regulation styles
These supports are not extras or niceties, and they don’t have to be expensive! They are practical ways of making community spaces more equitable.
Participation Can Look Different
At an inclusive event, there is no single “right” way to take part.
One person may be excited to greet every volunteer, try each activity, and stay until the end. Another may prefer to observe first, use a visual schedule, communicate through AAC, sign, vocalizations, typing, wear headphones, choose one activity, take several breaks, or leave after a short visit. However an individual engages at an inclusive event is expected and welcomed engagement.
At Resonate’s Fall Open House/sensory friendly trick-or-treating event, a person does not need to speak aloud, make eye contact, wear a costume, accept a treat, follow a social script, or engage in every activity to belong.
This is especially important for neurodivergent individuals, people with sensory differences, people who use alternative or augmentative communication, people with disabilities, and anyone who benefits from greater predictability or flexibility. At the same time, adaptive event design helps many more people: young children, people experiencing anxiety, families navigating an unfamiliar setting, individuals with food allergies, and caregivers who simply want a more relaxed experience. Improved access helps EVERYONE!
When we shift the goal from “everyone participates the same way” to “everyone has meaningful choices,” communities become more welcoming for all of us.
Planning and Knowledge as Tools
Information is an important accessibility tool.
Before attending an unfamiliar event, many people benefit from knowing where they are going, who may be there, what activities are available, what sensory experiences may occur, and what choices they have if they need support. This preparation can reduce uncertainty and give individuals and families time to make a plan that fits their needs.
To help people of all ages prep for Halloween (and specifically trick-or-treating), Resonate developed an inclusive, neuroaffirmative educational book to help people prepare. Rather than presenting one required way to participate, the story describes what trick-or-treating may involve while emphasizing autonomy—including options to take breaks and make choices throughout the experience.
You can read or download the book here: Explore our Inclusive Trick-or-Treating Story.
Although the story was created for our trick-or-treating event, its underlying message applies broadly: preparation should support a person’s agency, not pressure them to perform. A helpful event resource says, “Here is what you might experience, and here are choices you can make,” rather than “Here is what you must do.”
Our Trick-or-Treating Event
Our Sensory-Friendly Trick-or-Treating event offers a fun, fall-centered opportunity for community connection while putting accessibility into practice.
Families can expect an event that welcomes different communication styles, different sensory needs, and different ways of joining in. Planned supports include accessible trick-or-treating stations, low-tech AAC options with mobile “trick-or-treat” recording buttons, staff members who can communicate in ASL, wheelchair-accessible routes, a variety of edible and non-edible treat options, and staff who understand and affirm neurodivergent ways of communicating and interacting.
This year’s event is planned for October 24, 2026, from 3:00–5:00 p.m. at Resonate Music Therapy (2906 Beacon Street Colorado Springs, CO). Individuals and families can enjoy trick-or-treating, fall activities, refreshments, games, and community connection at their own pace.
Our goal is not to create a perfectly quiet or highly structured experience for every person. Instead, we want to provide choices, reduce unnecessary barriers, and make it easier for people to engage in ways that feel right for them.
Building Communities With Access in Mind
Every event planner, organization, school, clinic, business, and community group can ask a few simple questions:
What sensory experiences might guests encounter here? How can we provide supports for fluorescent lighting, noise, visual stimuli, etc?
What information can we share beforehand to reduce uncertainty?
Are there ways to participate without speaking, waiting in a long line, or following a single social script?
Can people take breaks, opt out, or leave and return without judgment?
Are our physical spaces accessible?
Do our staff understand that communication and regulation may look different from person to person?
Are we welcoming people as they are—or asking them to change in order to participate?
Do we have accessible resources for Deaf, hard of hearing, or Blind participants?
Accessible events are not about lowering expectations or making experiences less meaningful. They are about recognizing that people bring different needs, strengths, communication styles, and ways of engaging with the world.
When we plan for that diversity from the beginning, we create more than an event. We create a community in which more people can feel safe, included, and valued.
We hope you will join us for our Sensory-Friendly Trick-or-Treating event—and carry these ideas into every gathering, celebration, and shared community experience. Full event details:
We are so happy to announce that we will be hosting our second annual sensory-friendly trick-or-treating event at Resonate. Mark your calendars now and come enjoy an afternoon of refreshments, fall crafts, games, trick-or-treating, community connection, handouts of our neuroaffirming educational book about trick-or-treating, and fall fun with our team on October 24, 2026, at 3:00pm. Stay tuned in to our Instagram, Facebook, blog, and emails for more details about event accessibility features, behind-the-scenes tidbits with our team, parking and event information, and what to expect. We hope to see you there! Want to sponsor or volunteer? Email Marissa at marissa@resonatemt.com.
The thing we’re most excited about: practice trick-or-treating! We’ve created a neuroaffirming educational book about the trick-or-treating process, which we’ll have printed and on hand, and 4 ‘houses’ (our rooms upstairs) for trick-or-treaters to stop at. Whether for practice or just for fun, it’ll be a safe and supportive way for folks to engage in fun Fall activities.
Stop by to connect with our team and learn more about our speech therapy and music therapy services while enjoying hot cocoa, apple cider, and comforting food from local vendors. We will also provide games and activities for you and your loved ones. This event is for all ages!
Local food trucks
4 trick-or-treating stations, an accessible way for all (the young and young at heart) to have fun and gather goodies
Learn about music therapy and speech therapy at Resonate
Fall crafts and games
Hot cocoa and cider
Music
Drop by anytime between 3- 5 p.m. Can’t wait to see you!
