31 for 21 Day 15 Some Kids with Down Syndrome Hate Haircuts!!!

before wyatt's first haircut!

during wyatt's first haircut!
those stickers were magical!

 wyatt's first haircut was probably his easiest haircut!   who wouldn't want their haircut at the "happiest place on earth"????    that's right, just after wyatt turned 1, he has his first hair cut at walt disney world's magic kingdom; at the barbershop on main street!   it was such a fun experience, and he did GREAT!!!   

after wyatt's first haircut!
all done!

too bad that we can't go to disney for each and every haircut!!!   a friend of mine just posted that she is having to mentally prepare herself for her daughter (who has Ds) to get her haircut!   i SO understand this process!!!   wyatt now HATES to get his hair cut!!!  but with hair that grows as fast as his does, and is super thick, we MUST get haircuts regularly!   

 

apparently we are not alone in this battle, many of my friends whose kiddos have Ds experience the same trauma that we do with each cut!   i must say that his last cut was the easiest so far, so i am hopeful that we will outgrow this!   during our last visit to hope haven, the Ds clinic in jacksonville, the educational consultant, laura, told me that her adult son, who has Ds, was the exact same way growing up!    she also gave me some pointers!

for many kiddos, the aversion to a haircut stems from sensory issues.  not wanting someone to touch their hair or not wanting anyone in their personal space can have a lot to do with it.  for wyatt, we believe it has a lot to do with the noise level associated with haircuts, especially when electric trimmers are involved (and many barbers cut kids hair completely with trimmers!)   laura told me that a solution they found was a lady barber who was willing to open her shop early just for them, and would cut his hair with scissors mainly!  

ms peggy sue

praise God that we have a barber friend who we went to church with who was willing to do just that!   ms peggy sue meets us early before she opens her shop; we try not to talk and laugh much, no loud music blaring, with disney channel going for wyatt to watch!   and she uses scissors as much as she can!!   what a blessing!   although it is not "easy breasy," it is much better than before we started our early morning visits!!!   we thank God for our friend who works with us to cut our little man's hair, and who prays over his appointment as well!   

and we hope to see her this weekend.....