Parents Turn Son’s Wheelchair Into Elaborate Halloween Costumes

'Halloween is just a day when we can just stop looking at the actual wheelchair and look at the boy in the costume.'

When Halloween night rolls around, all eyes in a town in Illinois, US, will be on Anthony Alfano.

The eight-year-old has cerebral palsy and gets around in a wheelchair, but that hasn’t stopped him from being the town’s king of Halloween.

Each year, Anthony’s parents make him an elaborate costume that incorporates his wheelchair.

This year, Anthony will be his favourite game show: “Wheel Of Fortune.”

“We watch it every night in our house with Anthony,” his mother, Deanna Alfano, told InsideEdition.com. “He loves hearing the alphabet, but he has a love for most game shows.” 

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DEANNA ALFANO
Anthony Alfano and his parents with his “Wheel Of Fortune” costume.

To make the costume, the Alfanos used a PVC board, a foam wheel and LED lights so the costume lights up in the dark.

“Since he’s in the wheelchair, we look for things for sitting,” his mother said.

Anthony’s costumes have grown more elaborate each year.

Last year, he was a Lincoln Memorial snow globe.

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DEANNA ALFANO
Anthony dressed up as a Lincoln Memorial snow globe for Halloween last year.

Another year he was a jockey.

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DEANNA ALFANO
Anthony’s jockey costume from a previous Halloween.

The Alfanos have been dressing up Anthony for the holiday since he was just a baby.

He dressed as Elvis for his first Halloween, complete with sunglasses, sideburns and a bedazzled onesie. Other costumes have included Pinocchio and a hockey goalie.

“People started really responding to Anthony’s costumes and expecting it every year,” Deanna Alfano previously told InsideEdition.com. “My husband growing up was really into Halloween so it just kind of snowballed.”

The Alfanos insist the holiday is one night when Anthony can really be like everyone else.

“Halloween is just a day when we can just stop looking at the actual wheelchair and look at the boy in the costume,” Deanna Alfano told ABC Chicago last year.

Her husband, Tony Alfano, added: “He’s not going to be our superstar baseball player. He’s just going to be the kid on Halloween that people are going to remember. And that’s what I want to do.”

This story was originally published on the US version of HuffPost.

Before You Go

Yes, You CAN Make A Family Walk Fun
Don't say 'who wants to go for a walk?'(01 of08)
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Reframe a walk so it's enticing and exciting using words like explore, play, adventure.Who wants to climb a castle or who wants to find some treasure or skim stones? (credit:Alexander Nicholson via Getty Images)
Don't plod in a straight line - and back again.(02 of08)
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Choose a wiggly walk and terrain made for adventuring. "It's all about keeping children's minds off putting one foot in front of another," says Clare Lewis. (credit:Stephen Lux via Getty Images)
Always have an appealing destination - and make pit-stops along the way.(03 of08)
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It could be a café with their favourite hot chocolate or their 'secret' place like a climbing tree. Make regular stops to admire natural curiosities, make a den, whittle a stick or play in water or whatever you fancy. Encourage your kids to take photos. Clare Lewis's family always take 'scroggin'; a New Zealand name for a hikers' mix of nuts and seeds, dried fruit and chocolate to keep energy levels up. (credit:ArtMarie via Getty Images)
Join forces with another family or get the kids to bring their friends.(04 of08)
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Children love the sociability of a walk and bringing friends increases their activity as they challenge each other to jump the highest or widest, splash in puddles, climb trees or find the best stick. (credit:Alistair Berg via Getty Images)
Walk together in a chatty clod, not a single line with you barking 'come on, keep up'(05 of08)
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There may be times you have to walk in a line, but take turns with who's the leader. Also, let your children choose the route (within reason!). (credit:Bounce via Getty Images)
Play games as you go.(06 of08)
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Hide-and-seek, capture the flag or ambushes - sending kids on ahead so they can jump out on you - are all favourites. Bring a ball or a Frisbee to play with too. (credit:JLPH via Getty Images)
Turn your walk into a treasure hunt. Or an obstacle course.(07 of08)
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Children love places to clamber over like a rocky beach or challenges like climbing trees or jumping over streams. Challenge children to touch that tree and run back, hopscotch between the pavement cracks or run along the low wall. "You could go on a shape walk, finding stones, shells and leaves that are all the same shape," suggests Clare Lewis, co-author of Adventure Walks for Families in and Around London. (credit:Imgorthand via Getty Images)
End on a high.(08 of08)
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Match a walk to your kids' ages. You don't want want to leave them exhausted. Talk up what fun you had, so next time you suggest an adventure walk they leap at the chance. (credit:ArtMarie via Getty Images)