Cascade Haunted Forest Offers Accessible Halloween for Neurodivergent COS Kids

The RiseUp School Field Trip

This week, the Haunted Forest hosted a field trip from RiseUp School in Colorado Springs. RiseUp serves students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and many of its students are non-verbal. Principal Kathy Stults spoke to KRDO about the experience, describing the value of an Halloween activity that works for the students RiseUp serves.

For families of children with IDD, moments like this — a seasonal, community activity their child can actually participate in — don't happen automatically. They require someone to build them intentionally. That's what the Cascade Haunted Forest represents: a volunteer community effort to make something that most families take for granted actually accessible.

Halloween Access for Neurodivergent Families in COS

The Cascade Haunted Forest isn't a commercial venue with a ticketing system — it's a community-created experience that operates through word of mouth and direct outreach. Families interested in learning more should check KRDO's October 28, 2026 coverage for contact details.

More broadly, Colorado Springs families of neurodivergent children have a few frameworks that can help with Halloween planning:

The Teal Pumpkin Project, run by FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), encourages households to offer non-food treats alongside candy, which helps children with food allergies and those with sensory or medical needs that make candy complicated. Households that participate place a teal pumpkin on their porch. The FARE website at foodallergy.org has a participation map.

For trunk-or-treats, smaller-scale environments are generally more predictable than neighborhood trick-or-treating. Several Colorado Springs locations are hosting trunk-or-treats on October 31 — Diversus Health (10 AM to 2 PM, free) and Red Leg Brewing (noon to 3 PM, free) are two options with lower stimulation levels than evening neighborhood routes.

Going earlier in the evening — or attending daytime trunk-or-treats — means smaller crowds and less noise, which can make the experience significantly more manageable for children who struggle in high-stimulation environments.