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Hartford Special Needs Kids Examiner

Halloween costumes for children with wheelchairs

September 30, 4:40 PMHartford Special Needs Kids ExaminerDanna Mann
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Trying to find a costume for someone who needs a wheelchair can prove to be a daunting task, but here are some ideas for fun at home ways to make great costumes! 

 

ENGINEER AND TRAIN


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

  • Cardboard boxes
  • Sharp scissors
  • Paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Clear packing tape
  • Overalls, shirt, and engineer's cap
  • How to make it:
  • Cut the cardboard to fit the wheelchair.
  • Paint the cardboard as desired to simulate an engine. Let dry.
  • Assemble the cardboard on the wheelchair and fasten with clear packing tape.

Dress up and have a great time!
Tips:
If you don't have an engineer's cap, purchase an inexpensive painter's cap and paint stripes on it.

 

DRUMMER


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

  • Pencil
  • Hula hoop
  • White Fome-Cor
  • Utility knife
  • Duct tape
  • Corrugated cardboard (14x95-inch strip)
  • Thumbtacks
  • Gift wrap
  • Tape
  • Removable tray fitted for wheelchair
  • Nylon rope
  • 2 cylindrical cardboard 1-gallon ice-cream containers
  • 2 large paper fasteners
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Wooden dowel (3-feet-long, 1/2-inch-wide)
  • 2 foil pie plates (10-inch diameter)
  • 2 rubber bands
  • Drumsticks
  • Sunglasses
  • White T-shirt
  • Black vest
  •  


1. To make the base drum, trace the outline of a hula hoop onto Fome-Cor and cut it out with a utility knife. Tape the cardboard sheet to the hula hoop, spacing the strips of duct tape about 7 inches apart. (To make the cardboard more flexible, try rolling it up lengthwise first.) Insert the Fome-Cor circle into the hula hoop and adjust it until it sits approximately 2 1/2 inches in from the rim. Secure the Fome-Cor with thumbtacks set along the outside of the cardboard, then cover the cardboard with gift wrap.

2. To fit the base drum, begin with the foot platforms as your guide, and fit the bottom of the drum under them. Mark where the top of the drum meets the tray. With the utility knife, make two holes just above where the cardboard touches the tray. Add a third hole between them. Thread a 2-yard length of nylon rope through each of the 3 holes and loop both ends of each rope over and back under the tray. Tightly knot the ropes in place.

3. To make the small drum, cover each ice-cream container with gift wrap. Cut a 6-inch, angled slit along the side of each container and fit one cylinder over each corner of the tray (you may have to lengthen the slit for a better fit). To secure, drive a paper fastener through the large and small drums where their surfaces touch.

4. To make the cymbals: Paint the dowel and tie it onto the side of the chair with two pieces of rope. Cut a small X into the center of each pie plate. Slide a rubber band onto the dowel about 10 inches from the top and wrap until tight. Slide one foil plate, faceup, on top of the rubber band. Wrap a second rubber band around the dowel 6 inches above the first plate. Add the second plate, facedown.

5. All that's left is for the drummer to dress up in his rock star gear, and let it roll!

Tips:

The placement of the drum will vary slightly according to your child's particular wheelchair.

 

For more great costumes for those in wheelchairs check out these sites

 

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10260

 

 http://family.go.com/halloween-costume-contest/unique-costumes-1/trick-or-treating-in-my-john-deere-unique-costume-2379/

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=az0mcke-8mUC&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=wheelchair+halloween+costumes&source=web&ots=P5KWQdSu6D&sig=1tZTcQFD8i_A_cbyhnau-_LtOTA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result

 

http://ca.dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Holidays_and_Observances/Halloween/Halloween_Costumes/






 

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