Date: 11-03-2017
A Floyd County father’s quest to make it easier for his son to cope with trick-or-treating crowds ended with one extraordinary Halloween costume this year.
Three-year-old Tyson Lafferty went trick-or-treating in Prestonsburg, dressed as an aviator — complete with his own “Helicooper” that was decked out with moving propellers, lights, Nerf guns, and, thanks to a wireless Bluetooth speaker, even helicopter sounds.
His dad, Matthew Lafferty, 38, of Prestonsburg, used parts from cars, bicycles, a ceiling fan and a jack-in-the-box costume he built for Tyson last year to create this year’s Halloween masterpiece. It took him about two months and he poured his entire vacation into it. When finished, it stood nearly six feet tall.
Lafferty said Tyson has “sensory issues” and is sensitive to crowds and loud noises. He started creating Halloween costumes that Tyson could sit inside during his first Halloween three years ago — when he turned the baby’s stroller into a Child’s Play doll box.
He got the idea for this year’s costume while Tyson was riding a Cozy Coupe car at his grandmother’s house this year.
With the toy car as the body of the “Helicooper,” Lafferty used PVC pipes to make landing gear, a ceiling fan for the propellers, an automobile fan for the rear propeller and an electronic gadget he created with bicycle parts that helped the helicopter turn on its lighted, homemade cart base. He secured Tyson in the helicopter with seatbelt straps from an old car seat.
“It’s awesome because of all of Tyson’s sensory issues, it helps him deal with the crowds,” Lafferty’s girlfriend Tiffany Jarrell said. “The fact that he cares enough to do this to make it as normal as possible for him, it’s just awesome.”
She said Lafferty is always building something. He said he’s always enjoyed “fooling around” with electronics and people regularly call him to ask him to build things.
He said they get all sorts of responses when they go trick-or-treating, and people are amazed at his Halloween creations.
“People enjoy it and they love looking at it,” he said. “Everybody comments on it.”
He said it takes a while for Tyson to like these creations, but he warms up to them.
“Usually, when I build one, he hates it at first because it’s something outrageous and new … But as the weeks go by and he sees me working on it, he gets used to it and he really likes it.”
Matthew said he enjoys the comments people share about his creations and that response drives him to try to top himself each year. He joked on Halloween that he’ll starting planning next year’s costume the following day.
He does all of this to make sure his son can enjoy trick-or-treating.
“He does a whole lot better than he would if he was out in the open,” he said. “He has a good time with it and that’s the main reason I put all the work I do into it.”
Lafferty, Jarrell and their son live in Prestonsburg. Lafferty has worked in the Floyd County Clerk’s office for 10 years, where he serves as director of operations, and he is also a photographer.
By Mary Meadows
Floyd County Chronicle and Times
