Haircut with sensory issues

[MrsNezbit]

Sorry, posting for traffic but my DS has just turned 3 and gets so upset when trying to cut his hair, his last cut was before Xmas and he desperately needs a trim at least but won't let me or the hairdresser anywhere near him with either scissors or clippers... anyone got any experience of getting your child to have a haircut when they have such bad sensory issues? I think it's both the feeling of the hair being cut and the loose hair that he cannot stand... cheers and sorry for asking this in aibu

There’s a fair few hairdressers out there who deal with autistic kids? Maybe have a local Facebook search?
My youngest also struggles. We do it at home with scissors & hope but the best. Usually if he has you tube on the iPad. Distraction helps. Bribery too normally.

Didn’t mean to infer your dc’s autistic. Just thought they might be familiar with the sensory issues.

Similar situation with 3yo DS. We go every 3 months to help him familiarise and talk about it regularly but not frequently.

On the actual day I load up my phone with whatever his current obsession is, plus a backup option. The hairdresser puts the cover on me then DS sits in my lap. I try and fend off as much hair as possible whilst keeping him still and focused on the phone. I then brush him down straightaway afterwards. He asks for wipes so O make sure he has one to begin with.

It's difficult, but we've gone from screaming at even driving past the hairdressers to sitting through most of the haircut with unease rather than active fighting (once in the chair anyway, getting in can still be hard work).

Good luck

Thank you so much! I like the idea of him sitting on my lap with the cover over me, he wrestles the cover off of himself and then gets upset that the cuttings have got on to him so that could work well... as for the autistic thing it is something that has crossed my mind so def no offence taken, I will look into hairdressers who specialise if we cannot make inroads using the above mentioned tips - thanks v much!

You're welcome! I forgot to add that we've never tried the clippers because of the noise, we stick to the scissors. The hairdressers are really good because they've told us their quiet time so we can arrange to go in when there's less noise and they try to have the same hairdresser do the cutting every time for familiarity. They also cut the sides and back first and the fringe last as having hair clippings on his face is the bit he just can't cope with.

We've found it takes time, advance planning and a helpful salon. Sometimes the cut was wonky because he was upset/moving about, but it was still better than nothing

My DS is also 3 with sensory issues. I cut his hair when he's asleep. It looks rubbish but at least it's out of his eyes!

My 3 year old DD has waist length hair. If you figure it out let me know.

I go to the same barbours for ds and after a few trips he settled down I have Smarties or skips to feed him while he sits watching my phone. No tears at the last few hair cuts.

I used to bribe my ds with Tots tv and jelly babies (it was a long time ago). It took a good few goes to get over it.

My brother (autistic) would struggle to get away and duck the clippers (Afro hair to scissors are not really an option) I figured out a mirror helped him (he's never been to hairdressers) and letting him feel the clippers buzz before trying to cut his hair helped him know what was coming. I think now he sots with his iPad but that's probably more because he gets bored now.

He almost always gets a 1 or 2 to prolong the gap between cuts.

My ds used to also go crazy with the cover on. So I just take him with an old pair of clothes so that they cut without the cover. Maybe try that?
Our hairdresser made him feel the machine first so he could see it wasnt going to hurt him . I also take a small new toy each time to keep him distracted. Our salon is a kids one so theres lot to keep him distracted.

Not unusual at all for children to not like haircuts. My DS, now 6 hated it for the first few years and really used to kick off but he likes our local barber so not an issue anymore.

Mobile hairdresser comes to my house. So just the fact that it's our house keeps my son calm.

We use to have a really bad time getting the youngest to get his hair cut. At one point we were asked to never come back to the barber's as we were upsetting their customers. In the end we had a mobile hairdresser come to the house, even then at first it was awful. However now at age 6years, he will just about get his haircut without tears. He doesn't like the hair on his skin or when they're cutting the hair near his ears.

Get your son used to the sensation of his head being touched by giving him head massages. Use firm pressure as this is calming. The head and face are full of sensory nerve endings and you can help to “desensitise” by doing this regularly. You can do this directly before having his hair cut too, to help him feel more comfortable with the sensation of having someone touching his hair.

My son is 7 and we are still struggling to cut his hair. I went on a sensory course recently after being referred by occupational therapy. They recommended trying to work on desensitising him to having his hair cut. So basically getting him used to having his hair touched, brushing his hair regularly and working up to having it cut etc. It's still a work in progress for us. I have tried numerous hairdressers with a few disasters so I have resorted to trying to cut it at home for the moment.

When DS was about this age, first, I didn't cut his hair often. About once a year we saw an aunt of mine, a retired hairdresser, who was willing to crawl around on the floor snipping a bit here and there, and I also tried myself, although his reception school photo is testament to my lack of hairdressing skill. A mobile hairdresser is probably best as at least the child is in their own environment, this worked ok for us although it's only now that he's a teenager that DS will co-operate with the process.

Stick some brandy in a bottle for him 😉

I cut DD's hair myself or have a mobile hairdresser come to the house. DD is not too bad if she can cover her face with her hands from the falling hair and being at home there is no noise from hairdryers, clippers etc. Good luck x

There is also an episode of Do you Know on iPlayer at the moment which explains how clippers work. Might not work for you but this is the sort of thing DD would love, then I could chat to her while her hair is being done about how it's working etc to distract her. Just thought I'd mention it on the offchance x

Thank you all so much for your replies, I am actually quite surprised how common this seems to be I have tried the distraction techniques but nothing so far has kept him calm enough to get the cut done... I love the idea of trying to desensitise him with a head massage so will see try that, and I had never thought about booking a mobile hairdresser to come here so that's a great idea. Thanks once again everyone, much appreciated

Yes I might try the head massage thing next time too! It definitely works when I massage DD's legs and feet before clothes (she is very sensitive with socks and trousers particularly). Hope things go as smoothly as possible!