Summer is here and it is.....HOT! In Florida, the temps can get well into the high 90's. To keep Ryland as cool as possible, we embarked upon the sensory experience of a haircut. For someone with autism, a haircut can be a hair raising venture! I would never trust anyone but myself to cut Ryland's hair and you can be sure that very few hairdressers have real experience with autistic children.
This is what's amplified to an autistic child during a haircut:
1. The sound of the scissors sawing at the hair
2. The feeling of the falling hair on their neck and skin
3. The visual of the falling hair on the floor and their skin
4. Feeling constrained as you try to get them to sit still so you don't stab them in the eye
Here are a few steps that might better the experience!
1. Do it often, not every week or anything, but once every couple of months, do a little trim. The more often you do it, the easier it will get. Theoretically.
2. The sensory input of a haircut has Ryland stimming for sure, so it's important to be extremely cautious when wielding the scissors
3. Make sure your child is comfortable with the person doing the cutting and you are in a familiar environment. That's another reason why going to a salon doesn't make sense for us, we cut in our bathroom.
4. Speak softly to your child and be patient. This is not the time to raise your voice and yell at them to keep still! Take your time. When Ryland was younger we even cut in stages. For example, it would take about 15 minutes to cut one side and he'd had enough! So we would cut the other side later that afternoon or even the next day.
5. Give a reward when you've finally come to the end! I offer Ryland a lollipop or IPad time, both of which he is very happy to receive!
These are just some ways to make it easier for you and your autistic child during a haircut. It may not eliminate the trauma all together. Ryland still cries when getting a haircut, but it's much less dramatic than it used to be. Just a little stepping stone on this journey of ours.
Here's to you and yours and finding ways for your little bird to sing~
Andi
