At last . . . . . . a real haircut

In our house, this is something to celebrate.  Joseph got a haircut. At a real haircutting place, not with me at home.  That doesn't sound like an accomplishment to you?  Well, then you haven't had a "sensory kid."

Joseph has significant hypersensitivity to tactile (touch) stimuli, so haircuts have always been super challenging for him. The feel of the buzzer on his head and neck is really, really difficult for him to handle. His older brother Brandon never liked haircuts (still doesn't), but Joseph's discomfort was off the charts. Not to mention that the feel of the stray hairs that fall out after the haircut onto his shirt or pillow REALLY drives him nuts. We learned to have him strip down to just underwear when I cut his hair, because even though the haircutting cape covered his clothes, he absolutely refused to wear anything again which had been worn during a haircut (even after it was washed), because he insisted "there's hair on it."  There probably were a few hairs remaining in the fabric, and most of us would attenuate to the stimuli and not be bothered, but to him each hair felt like a little knife in his skin.

The last time he had his hair cut by a professional was when he was about 2 years old.  It was a nightmare, and the haircutter made a bad situation worse. ("Why do you act like a baby? You are a big boy", she said to him, trying to shame him into sitting still.)  That was about the time that we were realizing that Joseph's reaction to sensory stimuli was interfering with his functioning, and so we began the ongoing process of improving his sensory integration.  While we worked on it and tried to figure things out, we decided that we would deal with haircuts at home.

We tried lots of ways to make the haircuts more bearable for him, but found little success. Threats, bribes, distraction, taking it fast, going really slow.  Basically the only thing that worked was to wait until he absolutely needed a haircut, and then hold him down while I buzzed his hair as short as possible (so the haircut would last as long as possible). It worked more or less - he had shortened  hair, but the goal has always been for him to tolerate tactile stimuli sufficiently to get a "normal" haircut.

Joseph has worked so hard in occupational therapy over the past five months. We have done many things to help desensitize his over-responsive nervous system, and we're seeing some great progress.  A few weeks ago he and I decided he was ready to try to get a haircut at a "real haircutting place," and so we did.

Joseph did absolutely fabulously great. He didn't love it (and had a cute pained look on his face through the haircut), but he tolerated it, and felt successful. He knew it was a big accomplishment, and I knew it, too. In fact, as I sat in the chair next to him while his hair was cut, I couldn't help but tear up. What kind of Mom cries when her six year old gets a real haircut?  This Mom does. It is a sign of progress.

I took photos with my ipod - not the best quality.

 All done and looking great! We celebrated with a treat from Target.  Way to go, Joseph!