Autism todler and haircuts

[HSmomNY]

Okay, how do you get your autistic todler to sit still for a haircut? Any ideas?

[AK_Mom4]

DS15 could not tolerate the noise of a barber shop or the smell of a beauty salon. Or the noise of clippers near his face. I used to cut his hair in the bath tub with scissors while he was distracted by the water.

 

At 15, he has finally expressed his dislike of dumb-looking haircuts and can go to a regular shop as long as it's not too busy.

[wapiti]

buy a set of clippers or hair scissors and do it yourself, going as fast as you can LOL? not that he'll sit still, but it may be easier on you both than going to a haircut place. (I cut my four boys' hair, horribly, but it's more convenient and certainly cheaper than going to a children's salon or barber.)

 

The clippers are a problem, of course, with the vibration, the noise, and the pokey ends of the guards, but I'm even worse at cutting with the scissors. Often I use the clippers on the side and the scissors on top. I have been known to follow them around with the scissors, sneaking in one cut at a time.

 

I like the PP's bathtub idea.

[gingersmom]

My son had major sensory issues that turned getting a haircut into a battle.

 

Most salons or barber shops we would go to once and never dare show up to again.

 

There was one place that wanted to send him home with half his hair cut. He looked really odd. I bullied them into finishing the job. :001_smile:

 

I tried to go as long as possible between hair cuts. When he was sleeping I would try to clip his hair because at preschool they kept saying it was in his eyes and he couldn't see.

 

I thought about getting one of those home kits but never did. I could just imagine what he would have ended up looking like. :confused:

 

By about age 5 we found an amazing women at a kids haircut place (so he could watch videos at the same time). No matter what my son did she was unflappable.

 

Thank goodness those days are a distant memory.

[Ottakee]

Can you see about anyone that would come to your home or cuts hair out of their home? I have several friends that do this so less traumatic---esp. for mom.

 

My 16dd is still TERRIBLE about getting her hair cut. It is now down past her waist and she insists she is not getting it trimmed. My friend is good about just "evening it out" while hiding the hair she has cut in her hands so that dd can't notice that 1-2 inches was trimmed off.

 

Otherwise I say try to learn to do it yourself. Short boy haircuts are quite easy.

[houseofkids&pets]

Are there any local autism support groups in your area? Our group has many members that can share names of hair dressers that are experienced with kids on the spectrum and can give lightning fast cuts.

 

We eventually ended up buying clippers since we have 2 boys and it was just sensory overload when we went to the hair salon. I cut their hair as short as possible and let in grow in until they look too shabby before attempting another cut. We try distracting them (items to hold onto and play with; cutting their hair in front of the T.V. while they are watching a much desired program of their choice, etc.) and we are not above bribery (candy!!:)).

 

My friend found a person who will come to her home to cut her son's hair. I would definitley try to ask around your community. Good luck to you!

[Susan C.]

No SN here, but ds was very wiggly. If I took him to a shop, I literally had to hold his head still for the barber. At home, I would try to stretch the barber cuts by putting in his favorite movie, putting him on a stool in front of the movie, and clipping while he watched. I would clip, stop, start again, and was usually finished by the end of the movie.

[chiguirre]

Do it yourself with clippers (unless you're super talented with scissors). I found kids' clippers that were pretty quiet and became an expert at an under-5-minute crew cut. Dh would hold dss and I would weed whack their hair as best I could. They didn't look TOO bad. :D

 

On the bright side, they both outgrew the issue. Ds2 is easily bribed into a haircut with a toy and ds1 just decided he wanted his too-long locks cut and asked to go to the barber. We were astounded when he just sat there and didn't make a fuss at all. It was a matter of waiting for him to decide to do it finally at 11.5 yo.

[Sharpie]

As a previous poster mentioned, I used to cut my sensory kids hair in the tub. I never was able to do it in one tub sitting but over several. Thankfully it has gotten much better and he now sits for a barber! I never thought we'd get there!

[Aoife]

I didn't real all the posts but I will tell you what has been our miracle...

 

The creaclip I got it off amazon and OMG it is awesome. It clips into the hair then you level it and pull it a bit then cut for crazy even cuts each time and it holds well so a squirmy kiddo won't ruin the haircut plus it gives a barrier between the scissors and the child so less risk of injury IMO :D

 

http://www.amazon.com/CreaClip-C-01/dp/B004NMR6TY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318963540&sr=8-1

[SweetMissMagnolia]

OH MY....I thought it was just MY kid....he used to be a TERROR when it came to haircuts....finally got him used to one place we went to and the lady that cut his hair died....tried a couple of other places--finally found a girl that is GREAT with him--she has SN kids too....she's very patient and talks with him and lets him do whatever while she cuts his hair-he does really well now......I usually let him take his iphone or DS (gameboy)===last time we went he told jokes the whole time-had the whole salon laughing.....

[itsheresomewhere]

I used to cut his hair at night when he was asleep. I would do one side at a time. Then we found a great barber I call Edward Scissor-hands. DS could be moving around and this guy can still work.

[Night Elf]

Until about age 6 or 7, he would sit on my lap holding some type of vehicle (hot wheels, chevron cars, fire truck, etc) while I brushed his arms lightly with my fingers. We call it ghost fingers. After that, he would sit in the chair alone but still hold his cars and always with a promise to visit some favorite store afterwards. I have always asked the stylist to skip the clippers. I chose his haircut until he was about 12 years old. He insisted on having it lay over his ears, and because he doesn't like hair cuts much, his hair is long. Occasionally, I ask him to please have it trimmed because it looks raggedy. I really don't mind longish hair on a man, but I expect it to look neat. Even at 15 yrs. old, he still doesn't truly understand the whole hygiene and looking presentable thing.

[momofmiracles]

:grouphug:

 

My ds was a NIGHTMARE when it came to getting his haircut. I would not only hold him in my lap, but I would try to hold his head as well. He kicked and screamed. Eventually, I started getting a complete buzz cut because it was faster and no way to mess it up. Now, he is able to sit through a regular boy's cut and even tells them he wants the front spiked.

 

I can't think of any one thing that actually worked to calm him - just one day on the way to the salon I reminded him of the treat he would get once he was done (not sure why it worked, because he always got a sucker). He was so excited and has looked forward to the haircuts ever since. He even points out that he "didn't scream or kick." :)

 

Sometimes it helps to have the same stylist and if they let the dc touch the clippers beforehand.

 

Hang in there. It will get better.

[Finnella]

Since my son's hair is curly, we sometimes would let it grow out because it mostly grew upwards. We were fortunate enough to find someone who came to our house cut the hair of both of our sons. That's what we were doing when my Aspie was a toddler. (Our NT DS didn't behave well during hair cuts either.) Sadly she moved, and we switched to the lady who was cutting my hair. It was a small, fairly quiet salon, and the hairdresser was very patient. She also had a very secure booster insert so my DS didn't feel like he was going to fall. She was the one who discovered that using a towel around his neck instead of those paper sheets helped with his sensory issues.

 

By the time he was older, around age 9, we had to go back to Supercuts for financial reasons. Fortunately by then he was much calmer about the process. He'd also needed a buzz cut at one point because he cut his own bangs out of impatience. That made him appreciate a professional hair cut more. He generally doesn't care too much about appearance, but he appreciates the compliments about his coppery curls. Except on the days that he doesn't. :001_huh:

 

Because my younger son's hair is so curly, we've been fortunate that most hairdressers aren't trying to use electric clippers. I tell them up front they can't. For the past several years (he's 12 now), he has been able to tolerate them to clean up his neck and around his ears. He still wants the towel around his neck, and we go to a fairly small location during off hours to keep the activity and noise levels down.