If your DS has ASD does he mind having his hair cut?

[LynetteScavo]

And if he does how do you manage it?

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

He used to hate it. Was an utter nightmare.

Now he has it done at school and is apparently happy enough most of the time. Is usually quite proud of it when he gets of the bus (takes my hand and rubs it on his head to show me ) Most sensory stuff he gets better with exposure and the hairdresser goes into school every 6 weeks or so so I think it's just having it done regularly that has helped.

[SammyK]

Yes he does!

Likes the idea of it then freaks.

[LynetteScavo]

Regular exposure.

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

Oh I know. I never managed it. Am very grateful to school for providing a haircutting service!

[coppertop]

Ds1 used to absolutely hate it. It was eventually cut at his 2nd or 3rd appointment, and even then I had to sit him on my knee and hold him there. It sounds bad but it was pretty desperate by then (he was nearly 4 IIRC). It doesn't bother him at all now as long as he has a bit of notice.

Ds2 doesn't seem to mind. The biggest challenge is probably getting him to stay still for long enough.

[PussinWellies]

Oh god, haircuts. Occasionally we do try again with DS1 (now 12). I still have to grapple him into the seat and hold his arms down while mouthing 'Just start cutting!' at the bewildered assistant (you'd think they would remember him from last time's performance). Often he calms down and starts chatting about algebra/train couplings/Thunderbirds/global warming after a bit, which clearly baffles them still further.

If we can't face it, I buzz him with the electric hair clippers on a not-too-short setting and hope for the best.

What about the other ASD joys of shoe shopping and dentists, anyone?

[SixSpotBonfire]

He is not a huge fan of haircuts, but I just try and get him watching something on DVD and then do my best. I count any session which ends with his ears intact as a success.

He is awful about ear-cleaning and nail-cutting though. And hasn't had a bath or a hairwash since August .

[seeker]

My ds doesn't have ASD, but he HATES having his haircut. He will only let his grandma (a retired hairdresser but unfortunately living 300 miles away) or me (living in the same house but as a hairdresser a pretty good bricklayer) cut it. So I keep his fringe trimmed and hack at the rest when it gets completely out of hand.

He says that he doesn't like the noise of the scissors, and he doesn't like his hair being different.

[mabanana]

No objection in principle at all, but he is naturally uncooperative - not because he is being deliberately so, more that he has no idea how to be cooperative, though he is improving with age. He used to writhe, be physically unable to be still etc. I used to sit right in front of his face, feeding him chocolate buttons the whole duration of the haircut and I always begged the barber/hairdresser to be very quick. It helped if there was a dvd to watch which some kids hairdressers have. I had two places I used to go, both informal, with people used to and kind to young children and with dvds as well as my chocolate button trick. Now he's seven and much better and dh takes him to the local barbers, which is super quick.

[mabanana]

Shoe shopping nearly gives me a nervous breakdown however

[mabanana]

Would a social story help? Ie written the day before and reinforced and reinforced right up to the minute he sits down? And chocolate buttons?

[Niecie]

Not too much now but he hated the clippers, hairdryers and having the water sprayed too. He can't sit still either so difficult to get his hair cut with scissors.

When he was little I used to make a big thing of letting him buy a lolly to suck whilst having his hair cut and mostly this worked to keep him quiet and keep the tears at bay.

Thankfully he has moved on from that and now just gives a running commentary of the whole event to the hairdresser, with added complaints about how he has bits of hair on his face and that it is taking too long. I have to hold is head down so the woman can cut the back of his head otherwise he keeps looking up to see what she is doing. One of these days he is going to lose an ear!

It was OK for him to be like this when he was 4 but not so easy to explain now he is 8. DS2 is better than he is and he is only just 5.

[LynetteScavo]

Well the hairdresser is super quick - we go to a childrens hair dresser, and we avoid clippers. Instead of running away he's started crying big blobby tears, and talking a lot. Fine for a 9 year old I supose, but I'm going to have a long haired teenager, aren't I? He says he just doesn't need it cut becuase he doesn't want it different.

[Seuss]

He used to hate it but is getting better. Having said that, we do it by sitting him at the computer whilst my mum hacks away and I catch the hair. He did let DH try the clippers on him but he has wild hair and it all went a bit pear shaped and we ended up going back to the hacking by hand method. I wouldn't care if we just let it grow but it is so thick he gets really hot.

[Flamesparrow]

DD is ok - as long as we have prepared in advance, and we go to the same hairdresser (took her to a diff one without a mickey mouse cape... she was Not Impressed)

[Liffey]

My son has global developmental delays plus a severe speech delay. I can hardly wash his hair. Thank goodness it seems to self-regulate now. Smells in the rain though!

[Buckets]

Mine is 3(Aspergers) and will let his hair be cut as long as he has his toys of choice in his hands. And someone prepared to hold him down when he's had enough and wants to get up. My parents have a mobile hairdresser so I send him round there and let them deal with it! The hairdresser says she's had worse.