Getting your haircut isn’t always fun. You sit in the chair and get a drape secured around your neck. The stylist sprays your hair with water that inevitably gets in your eyes and in your ears. Then she positions your head this way and that to cut your hair. It has to be done, and we endure it.
But a child with autism cannot deal with all of that. Autistic children have some heightened sensory awareness. They are more sensitive to things, and many of them are uncomfortable being touched. Imagine getting your haircut if you don’t like other people to touch you.
Well, Jennifer McCafferty’s son, Isaiah, has autism and needed a haircut. Getting a haircut has never, ever been easy for Isaiah, but it needs to be done. So, they went to a Sports Clips in South Charleston, WV.
As expected, Isaiah wasn’t happy. But, unexpectedly, the stylist, Kaylen, took it all in stride and worked her magic.
Kaylen got on the floor with Isaiah. She sat on the floor with him and talked to him. She let him check out her spray bottle.