15-Year-Old Boy With Autism ‘Crushed’ After Neighbor Refuses To Take Him Trick-Or-Treating With His Sister Because He’s ‘Too Old’
Be kind to teenagers you see trick-or-treating. You don't know their stories.
Pixel-Shot | Shutterstock Halloween is just around the corner, which means children across the country are preparing their trick-or-treat bags and costumes, gearing up to collect as much candy from their neighbors as they possibly can.
However, one boy's excitement about trick-or-treating was dashed when he was told that he was "too old" to go out this year.
The teen boy’s neighbor refuses to take him trick-or-treating with his younger sister because she believes he is 'too old.'
In a Reddit post, the 15-year-old boy’s stepmother revealed that her son, Jack, has autism. “Although he is not cognitively challenged he has some childlike interests and behaviors,” she explained, one being a desire to go trick-or-treating.
The woman also has a 9-year-old daughter, Jill, who is neurotypical. Thankfully, the two stepsiblings have always gotten along and Jack considers his little sister his best friend.
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Over the summer, the woman was involved in an accident that left her immobilized and mostly homebound. While her husband can drive the kids to and from school, her neighbor, Nancy, is a stay-at-home mom who has been kind enough to help out with the house and the kids while her husband is working.
“She has gone out of her way to be helpful, picking up the kids from school, bringing over meals, and helping to take care of the house,” the woman wrote. “I’m very grateful to her for this.”
Despite the neighbor’s generosity, she has made it clear that the teen's behavior makes her uncomfortable.
“She’s a very traditional sort of person and seems uncomfortable with how Jack behaves," the mom wrote. "If she’s taking her daughter and Jill shopping or to the movies and he asks to come along, she always shoots him down.”
“Jack has told me that she’s called him immature for liking things like kids’ cartoons and toys and will ask him why he can’t act like a ‘normal teenage boy,’” she continued.
Although Nancy plans to take her daughter and Jill trick-or-treating this Halloween, she refuses to allow Jack to join them, insisting that he is "too old" for the festive activity and “should be out with friends like a normal teenager.”
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“Jack is crushed," the mom admitted. "He LOVES Halloween and he was excited about going trick-or-treating. He doesn’t really have any other friends he can go out with and he’s told me he doesn’t want to stay home to pass out candy.”
While she wants her stepson to go out on Halloween and have fun with his sister, she is unsure if she should demand that Nancy bring him along, fearing that she will ignore him or make snide comments and ruin his night.
“My husband has told me not to confront Nancy because she’s been doing so much for us, and he also thinks Jack is too old for trick-or-treating,” the woman admitted, adding that her husband is unable to take the kids trick-or-treating because he works night shifts.
Although the mom is on the fence over what she should do, most Redditors believe that there is a clear answer.
People online begged the mom to stand up for her son so that he could enjoy his Halloween.
“Does it really matter how much Nancy has helped out if she treats your son like this?" one Redditor asked. "I just couldn't imagine how I would feel if my parents valued their neighbor's opinion/feelings over how I'm being treated."
“He likes what he likes," they continued. "Why is he too old for trick-or-treating? I'm 25 and still like ‘little kid things’ like what is so bad about that? Please stand up for your children."
Others pointed out that the so-called “normal” things teenagers typically do on Halloween instead of trick-or-treating are not necessarily better. In fact, they can be stupid and dangerous.
“Would Nancy or your husband like it better if Jack was out getting drunk, doing drugs, making bad choices?" another commenter questioned. "That's what ‘normal teenagers’ do on Halloween. That's ridiculous."
Sadly, not everyone agrees about teens and trick-or-treating. In fact, some towns have even instituted legal age restrictions for the activity, which most people, thankfully, ignore as ridiculous.
Unless the teen is terrorizing other trick-or-treaters, there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t be able to celebrate Halloween the way he wants to.
No one is truly ever “too old” to do what makes them happy during holidays.
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One 16-year-old girl shared on Reddit just how much she still enjoys trick-or-treating with her siblings but admitted that adults tend to give her the side-eye. Now, she has an important message for these adults and others who believe that teenagers have no business trick-or-treating.
“You never know why someone is out trick or treating. You never know if it’s their favorite holiday, if their home life is stable, if they’re chaperoning, if they’ve had anything to eat that day,” she wrote.
“So please, if you buy candy to give out for trick or treaters, be prepared to give it to anyone who comes to your door in costume and saying trick or treat. I don’t care if it’s a four-year-old or a grown adult,” she insisted. “You don’t have to be extremely kind, but please be considerate.”
Whether you're on the autism spectrum or not, we all have experiences that we enjoy that others may consider juvenile. The good news is that if they prefer not to participate in them, they don’t have to! It doesn’t mean they get to dictate what you do based on age, nor rob you of experiences that are important to you.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.