bountifulplate

Yesterday was a HUGE milestone. Do you want to know what it was?!?!?! Well, I will tell you! It was five years almost to the day that Dominic has been going to his barber, Vince. Dominic was 11 when he went to Vince for the first time. He just turned 16 in July. Vince has watched Dominic grow from a boy into a man. In case you were wondering, both Vince and Dominic had on their respective masks during the haircut . They removed it briefly for the picture! So, for those of you without sensory sensitivities, getting a haircut can be challenging because of the bright lights; the noise of the hairdryers, people and the clippers; having someone touching their head and lastly, the smell of chemicals. For most of us, those things wouldn't bother us or we block it out. For those with Autism or sensory sensitivities, it can be very difficult.  Before Michigan lifted the restrictions for getting a haircut, I asked Dominic a bunch of times if he wanted me to cut his hair. ...

  One of Dominic's least favorite things to have done is getting his hair cut.  When it was time for his first haircut, he was probably about 1 1/2 or 2 years old.  He got himself so worked up (crying and gagging) that the barber could barely complete the haircut.  We attempted again six months later and he kept trying to get out of the chair and run out the door.  It wouldn't have been too big of a deal, except the barbershop was on a very busy street!!  After that experience, I decided the best thing to do would be for me to cut his hair. When I first started cutting it,  I used a booster seat on the floor and could strap him in so he wouldn't jump up and run around before I could finish cutting it.  He cried for probably the first 5 years every time I needed to cut his hair.  Since he has gotten too big for the booster seat, we started sitting on the floor to do his haircut.  His favorite saying during his haircut is always, "I am a...