What It Means To Put A Yellow Pumpkin On Your Porch

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In the last few years, the iconic Halloween pumpkin has taken on a new meaning and has been used to bring awareness to the different needs of children during the festive autumn season. If you see a yellow pumpkin displayed on a doorstep this year, you'll know it's the home of someone who cares deeply about kids. The yellow-hued pumpkin trend was started by a woman named Laura Slatter to raise awareness about a condition called apraxia of speech and help make trick-or-treating more inclusive and enjoyable for all. She got the idea after seeing teal pumpkins on front porches and learning their meaning.

Apraxia of speech is a rare neurological condition that affects one's ability to communicate verbally. Placing a yellow pumpkin on your porch signifies that children with special needs — or those who can't greet you with a "trick-or-treat!" — will have a positive experience at your home. Slatter's project has also used yellow trick-or-treating bags to help candy givers easily identify children with disabilities, eliminate confusion, and create a sense of understanding and compassion among those participating in Halloween festivities.

Slatter started the Yellow Pumpkin Parade after an unpleasant experience while taking her 4-year-old son, who has apraxia of speech, trick-or-treating. The motor speech disorder affects his ability to coordinate the movements required for speech. This Halloween marked the first time when the boy could tell his parents what costume he wanted to wear to go trick-or-treating. 

Uttering his best version of "trick-or-treat" when knocking on doors, Slatter's son was thrilled when the first piece of candy was dropped into his bucket. But things didn't go as planned a few houses down the way. One woman kept pressing him to properly enunciate "trick-or-treat," but Slatter's son was unable to do this, so he left that proch without a piece of candy. "He wouldn't go to another house. He knew he was different, and my heart broke," Slatter wrote on her Kickstarter page. Disheartened about her son's trick-or-treating experience and knowing he was not the only child with apraxia of speech, she decided to start a movement of her own. 

Now, Slatter sees yellow pumpkins as a symbol that can help children have a trick-or-treating experience like every other child while also sparking a discussion about the condition. In addition to launching a marketing campaign to encourage the use of yellow pumpkins on porches, she also raised funds to pass out 1,000 yellow trick-or-treat bags for children with apraxia of speech and other disabilities in South Carolina. Slatter's hope is that the bags will promote awareness and acceptance of the condition. 

With Halloween fast approaching, now is the perfect time to put out your pumpkins. If you plan to add a yellow one to your doorstep this Halloween, you can opt for a naturally yellow variety, buy an artificial pumpkin, or just paint any pumpkin you already have.

Going the natural route, 'Mellow Yellow' pumpkins are your best bet. Weighing up to 20 pounds and measuring well over a foot in height, these bright yellow pumpkins will make a striking porch display for Halloween, whether you carve them or not. For parents whose children have apraxia of speech, these pumpkins will be a hard-to-miss signal that you're supporting the cause and taking steps to make trick-or-treating enjoyable for their little ones. And once the holidays are done, you'll find use for 'Yellow Mellow' pumpkins in your kitchen — they're great for roasting and baking. You can get them at Safeway for about $11 each, although other grocery stores, garden centers, and your local pumpkin patch may also have them. Alternatively, consider buying some artificial yellow pumpkins; this way, you'll reuse the decor year after year. For example, this Winlyn Assorted Pumpkin Set costs under $20. 

If you can't get your hands on the 'Yellow Mellow' variety or its artificial version, simply paint a regular pumpkin yellow. Acrylic paint works best on pumpkins, and this TMOL Acrylic Paint Set should work well for this project. You'll need to apply several coats of the paint to give the pumpkin a clean, uniform appearance. And if your own kids are affected by apraxia of speech, improve their trick-or-treating experience by printing out these cards from Apraxia Kids; they tell homeowners that the child may have trouble pronouncing the common Halloween phrase. 

Yellow isn't the only color that gives Halloween pumpkins a special meaning. For instance, teal, which partly inspired Slatter's initiative, represents food allergies; seeing teal pumpkins on a porch could mean that the hosts have allergen-free treats available. Meanwhile, blue pumpkins on the doorstep signify autism and may be displayed by households whose members are on the spectrum. If autistic kids reside in the home, blue pumpkins could mean that the house isn't partaking in Halloween activities (although you should see other, more explicit signage to this effect). That said, pumpkin displays in this color could also mean that the hosts are ready to accommodate autistic trick-or-treaters.

Purple pumpkins — an initiative that kicked off with the Purple Pumpkin Project — represent epilepsy. A household displaying purple pumpkins on the porch could have a member with epilepsy, or the hosts may simply be doing their part to spread awareness about the condition. Likewise, porches adorned with pink pumpkins are a symbol of breast cancer; putting up these decorations could be the hosts' way of spreading awareness, or expressing their solidarity with people affected by the disease. Notably, October is also the breast cancer awareness month in the United States and globally. Meanwhile, red pumpkins are meant to highlight the fatal risks of impaired driving — an activity that's particularly deadly around Halloween.