The haircut dilemma of my son!

Last Valentine’s day, my husband decided to have his haircut.  Since Ren also had a long hair, we decided to have his hair cut too.

We decided to have their hair cut in the mall because the barber shops there are less crowded.  My son doesn’t like his hair to be cut especially when they are using the electric razor.  His ears are quite sensitive to noise and he doesn’t like others to touch it.  It’s even harder on my part when we are cleaning his ears because he is so ticklish.

I heard that other mommies at my son’s therapy center that their sons also have this kind of problem with their kids with ASD.  It seems that this a common issue to all of us.

The reasons?

• They have sensory problems that makes them sensitive to sounds. The electric razor, among other things, I think is very noisy for them.

Some solutions that I did were:

• When we were in Manila, there is a barber shop near our place with a TV.  We let him watch the TV to distract his attention from the scissor or razor.  But it is only effective if he likes the show.
•  I also tried to bring a gadget that he can play with while he is having his hair done. 
• I tell him that we will go to his favorite Toy store if he behaves, or tell him that he will get his favorite food after the haircut session.  I need to remind it to him over and over again to get his attention.
• Some mommies with kids with ASD, hire a barber and do the hair cutting at home.  This way, the meltdown are only seen by a few people and only those who can understand the child more.

I hope that there would be a barber shop here that will cater to kids with sensory problem issues.  Ren’s OT has this idea, and I hope that it will push through soon.