Haircuts

[Guest guest]

I have to say major " ditto " with my 10-yr-old son. Any trimmed hairs

that fall on him during a haircut drive him absolutely bonkers. He

has always abhorred haircuts (and incidentally change of any kind).

> Do any of your ocd kids have trouble getting haircuts?

>

> Not necessarily the physical act of a haircut, that too but the

whole

> idea of a haircut, of changing the way the hair is now -

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, we have trouble with that sometimes. I think it might be the fear of

making a choice - my daughter has always had trouble choosing because she has an

OCD thing about " what if I make the wrong choice? " It used to be huge, but

this has gotten much better over the years with treatment.

in NV

[Guest guest]

Yes, I've had haircut issues with 2 of my 3 children over the years,

and none of them like it when I get a haircut! Like I'm somehow

changed when my hair is cut. (And I'm talking just a trim!).

Donna S.

[Guest guest]

Hello, not only am I a hairdresser but a mom of three with ASD. When it

comes to getting his hair cut, make sure it is a time that he wants to do it

at. Talk to him about it in advance. Take a favorite book, toy that can be

washed, French fries are always good. Lolipops aren't the best because they

are sticky and need to be washed off. Don't try to hold his head still. If

the hairdresser is good, they can work with your childs head moving about.

I have had many times that I would do a haircut while sitting on the floor.

Of course this was on one of my down syndrome clients. You might want to

look and see if there is hairdresser willing to come to your house. There

are hairdressers that do that, ask around. When it comes to the clippers, I

actually would let the kids help me by holding on to it with me. If it is

the noise that they don't like, then don't use it. Have you tried maybe

earplugs? If the Sanek strip isn't helping ( the strip that is placed on

the neck to protect from the cape) take a long sock with you to place around

the neck. I hope that this will help.

Janelle

-- ( ) Re: Haircuts

My 6yr old son does the same thing. He gets very upset with the noise

of the trimmer and the hair is itchy as it falls on him. So sensory

issues come into play also with my son. And it gets into his mouth

with all his wiggling around. He also worries the whole time that he

will get cut by the trimmer no matter how many times I tell him the

trimmer won't cut him.I try to talk to him and occupy his time with

something. The front of his head is the hardest to get done. The

lollie pop or candy idea sounds like a good thing to try. I will try

that next time.

~Ellen

>

>

> Does anybody else have problems with haircuts?...My boy doesn't

seem

to

> comprehend that the more he yells with his mouth open, the more hair

> goes into his mouth, the more he has to spit, the more he gets

yelled

> at. AAAAAHHH!!!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Just a thought, even though the yelling may not be pleasant to hear, but you

might be stuck with it. Why don't you get a styrafome cup or a plastic cup

that you can cut the end off of and let him hell through it. Or maybe a

visor that he can fit above his mouth, and below his nose? It seems like it

would help in keeping the hair out of his mouth. I left another message on

here regarding other haircutting issues. I am a hairdresser as well as a

parent of three with ASD so there is nothing that I have not dealt with.

Can you get him distracted with singing instead of yelling? What is his

age?

My best suggestion is to take him when he wants to go. If it isn't a " good "

time for him it isn't a good time for anyone. My other suggestion was the

one that I left in my other reply, that is to find a hairdresser that

travels to homes. It is something that I looked into many times. I wanted

to cut hair in peoples homes with disabilities, there might be someone in

your area.

Janelle

-- ( ) Re: Haircuts

My 6yr old son does the same thing. He gets very upset with the noise

of the trimmer and the hair is itchy as it falls on him. So sensory

issues come into play also with my son. And it gets into his mouth

with all his wiggling around. He also worries the whole time that he

will get cut by the trimmer no matter how many times I tell him the

trimmer won't cut him.I try to talk to him and occupy his time with

something. The front of his head is the hardest to get done. The

lollie pop or candy idea sounds like a good thing to try. I will try

that next time.

~Ellen

>

>

> Does anybody else have problems with haircuts?...My boy doesn't

seem

to

> comprehend that the more he yells with his mouth open, the more hair

> goes into his mouth, the more he has to spit, the more he gets

yelled

> at. AAAAAHHH!!!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dave, Same here.....we gave GW his own little haircuts using clippers that buzzed.....the buzzing annoyed him at first until we associated it with getting a tickle....so then he would ask us to "tickle his hair" which meant I am ready now for a haircut and you are on limited time Now that he is 7.....he has graduated to getting tickle cuts at the hairdresser..but that is only because that is where daddy goes, and he watched him enough times to decide that he wanted it done too....oh, and it also has to be a lady doing the hair..that way he can flirt Just keep working with it...but I do recommend doing the haircuts at home with buzz clippers first.....scissors never, never worked with us... April Hoffman <patrickahoffman@...> wrote: Dave, Our son had problems (meltdowns, couldn't understand/follow the directions) at the barber too when he was real little. (He's 7 now, fairly HFA). So I just bought some clippers and gave him a little buzz cut here at home. The clippers were only about $10. But, they are noisier than the ones they use in the shops. So that might be a problem (we got the cheapest ones out there). Over time he got more and more used to it, and you can practice giving

him the same type of commands that they give at the stylists. He may not look super stylin' but we have lots of NT kids around here with the same kind of haircut, so it wasn't noticable that he was doing something different. Now we can go to the barber/stylist, who I usually tip off (in addition to tipping well) that he's autistic and therefore won't react/act as they might expect. He's not perfect, but now he doesn't melt down and he always looks forward to the Slurpee that he gets when we're done.

[Guest guest]

Please, PLEASE, if anyone has advice on getting your AS child's hair

cut, send it my way.

I just left a beauty shop not half an hour ago with my AS daughter, who

went into meltdown AGAIN during her haircut. She just can't handle it.

She wants her hair short, but she constantly screams about the hair on

her, the water, the sounds, it's too short, it's not even...you name it.

She completely falls apart, and everyone nearby stares at me like I'm

the worst parent in the world because my ten year old is throwing a

tantrum like a toddler. We've tried distractions - video games,

music...none of it works. Our hairdresser has an autistic grandson and

is very patient with her - but still, I leave near tears (or in tears)

every time this happens, because I want to fix it and can't.

Any ideas at all?

[Guest guest]

Several people suggested having her come to my house - and I think I'll try it. I also had a friend (who kindly let me cry on her shoulder last night) offer to come visit sometime and teach me how to cut hair - she's a licensed cosmetologist, but lives in another state. Maybe doing it myself - in stages - will alleviate some of her tension as well.

Thanks for all the great tips.

GreeneEditor, Cobblestone Press LLCPrograms Director, Carolina Romance Writers

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