Costume inclusion

Kids and Halloween go together. During my years as a pediatric physical therapist, our kids with special needs were included in Halloween celebrations but their bulky equipment made costumes a challenge.

Creative parents and teachers are figuring out ways to incorporate kids' mobility aids (and in one case, a service dog!) right into the costume. Here are some super cute ones.

Some charities now work with families to customize a costume for a kid with special needs. Magic Wheelchair is a non-profit founded by man whose own 3 children have spinal muscular atrophy, so he completely understands a child's need to combine safety and fun. At Oskaloosa Academy in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, art students have used their skills to create awesome costumes for today's celebrations. 

Another way kids with special needs get to be kids first, with their needs integrated right into their day. 

One mother's plea, 150 + responses

Deborah Skouson's daughter Cami had a favorite shirt, a pink short-sleeved shirt with flowers made by Circo. Cami loved that shirt and wore it nearly every day, as happens sometimes in autism. Like all clothing, it wore out. Deborah bought another and another. Eventually, the shirt was no longer carried in her local stores. She felt fortunate to find them online, but after a while even that supply dried up. 

Desperate, Deborah turned to Facebook and posted this plea. 

The story went viral.   

Within a couple weeks, over 150 shirts had been promised or had arrived at the Utah family's home. Most were from total strangers from as far away as Germany.

In addition, Target, the store chain where Deborah first found the shirt, has promised to make the shirt in various sizes so Cami can enjoy wearing it for years to come.                                                                                                                  

A kind-hearted boy in New Mexico inspires a good deed in Iowa

When Josette Duran's son asked her to pack two lunches to take to his Albuquerque elementary school, she asked him why. It seems a friend had only a fruit cup in his lunch box each day, and Dylan felt bad for him. So did Josette. She and Dylan had faced some hard times themselves, and she was more than happy to share what they had.

Within a few weeks, the school principal got wind of this lunch-sharing setup, as did the mother of the other child. She offered to pay Josette for the lunches, which she graciously refused. The girls' volleyball team raised money to pay back Josette. She donated the money to pay overdue lunch fees at the school.

Josette shared the story via a Facebook Live feed. It went viral.

Jerry Fenton in Burlington Iowa saw the video. He was so moved by the example set by Dylan and Josette that he decided to act. He contacted his alma mater, Grimes Elementary School, and discovered that over $450 was owed in unpaid lunch fees. He paid that off and donated extra to offset future expenses.

A New Mexico boy with a kind heart has done more than feed his friend. He helped feed kids in two communities a thousand miles apart.

Her one wish was to give

Thirteen-year-old Emma Allred has seen her share of health problems. At age 10, she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. She's had three surgeries so far, with a fourth coming up soon. 

Other teens might feel sorry for themselves. Not Emma.

When she learned she'd been granted a wish by Make-A-Wish, she knew what she'd ask for - a chance to help others. Emma said her wish was to feed the homeless. And the collection of this massive amount of food should be fun. Her community came out to support her, and the result was a dream come true. 

A park near Emma's home in Twin Falls, Idaho was the chosen site. Make-A-Wish supplied face painting artists, popcorn, and cotton candy for the events' participants. They also donated individual bags for the homeless, each containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, blanket, and sleeping bag according to Inside Edition. A local grocery chain donated a truckload of food. Individuals and fire departments donated hundreds of boxes of non-perishables. In all, over 13,000 pounds of food was given in honor of Emma's selfless wish. All will be given to local food pantries. 

Brenda Vogt,director of program services for Idaho's Make-A-Wish told KMVT News, "It's incredibly unique and we are so thrilled that somebody is as kind and generous as Emma to want to give to others instead of have the wish granted for herself." 

How coffee and kindness got Kyle Bigler a car

Joanne Griffiths has 10 kids. Ten! I'm amazed she can find time to brush her teeth, never mind think about other people's needs. But that's exactly what she did.

Kyle Bigler was a familiar, friendly face at the New Hampshire Dunkin' Donuts drive-through, and he handed Griffiths her coffee early one morning. On her way to work mid-afternoon, she noticed Bigler walking along the road. Just before 11 that same night, Griffiths saw Bigler a third time, working the graveyard shift at a local gas station. She offered him a ride home, which he declined. She discovered Bigler had been walking to both minimum-wage jobs, a trek of about 16 miles a day.

Yes, this young man walked six hours to these two jobs and had done so for about a year. He felt that his learning disability and speech impediment gave him few work options. "No places close to me would hire me and Dunkin' Donuts in Belmont did, so I took it and said I'd walk to work and work for them every day," he told TODAY.

Griffiths was amazed by Bigler's work ethic. She snapped a photo of him at the drive-through and shared his story on Facebook. It went viral.





Among the comments on Griffiths' post were offers of help for Biglin in terms of money and jobs. Autoserv Tilton, a local car dealership, offered another solution - a car.

“I was touched by Kyle’s work ethic and perseverance even when times were tough,” Ryan Parks, sales manager at AutoServ of Tilton ― which donated the car to Bigler ― told The Huffington Post. “I feel like that’s something we don’t see as much nowadays when I compare my generation to my parents’ or my grandparents’ and it was really refreshing to see that.”

Biglin will have to learn to drive and pass his driver's test, but he is overwhelmed and excited. Not only do these wheels mean he can drive to work, they also give him a way to visit with his 3-year-old son Steven who lives with his mother over 3 hours away. 

"Meeting Kyle has humbled me and made me more grateful for what I have." Griffiths tells PEOPLE. “Everyone struggles in life. All that matters is how you respond to the struggle and persevere.”