Target is joining Spirit Halloween in becoming a major retailer that sells Halloween costumes specially for kids who use wheelchairs.
Target officials recently announced its "adaptive costume collection," which will be available this fall. It consists of two costumes, one for boys and one for girls, that can be customized with wheelchair accessories.
The boys' option features a pirate costume with a pirate ship wheelchair cover. For girls, Target offers a princess costume with a wheelchair cover made to look like a princess carriage. The costumes and wheelchair covers can be bought separately or together.
Halloween can be a challenge for children who use wheelchairs and their families. While costumes are widely available, finding a way to incorporate the child's wheelchair presents an issue.
Julie Cheever, whose son, Drew, uses a wheelchair, told The Washington Post last year about her family's experience with Halloween.
“When a child is in a wheelchair, people often look past them, and Halloween is no exception,” Cheever said. “But when they suddenly have this big, fantastic costume, all of that changes."
Another major retailer to offer wheelchair-adaptive costumes is Spirit Halloween. Spirit's 2018 costumes transformed wheelchairs into monster trucks, princess carriages, rocket ships and race cars, KYW-TV reported. The costumes were available for purchase online for the first time last year.
Parents and kids have also put their own crafty skills to work to make custom wheelchair-adaptive costumes.
Halloween costume of the year?
— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) October 31, 2018
14-year-old Luke Fanella suffers from a muscle disorder, so he incorporated his wheelchair into his costume, the Blackhawks Bench 🎃 🦇pic.twitter.com/aaD5LRocwo
I Love it! - A dad made an ice cream truck #Halloween costume for his son in a wheelchair http://t.co/UvIMB2ncu1
— Rob Szczerba (@RJSzczerba) October 31, 2014
This Ghostbusters Ecto1 Wheelchair Halloween Costume is Totally Amazing https://t.co/GFJNIa4Osh pic.twitter.com/MTuqA9gMdI
— Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) October 20, 2016
This 5-year-old boy with spina bifida just got a creative halloween costume made by his grandpa -- and it's completely functional with his wheelchair https://t.co/CM6eJbzYSE pic.twitter.com/k0qNoXkgfi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 18, 2018
A next-door neighbor transformed this boy’s wheelchair into a Star Wars Halloween costume pic.twitter.com/NCUEX33M1S
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 31, 2017
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