Like a lot of children on the spectrum, the Monster has his sensory issues.  We’ve had problems with the fact that he’s sometimes sensory seeking, but there’s a lot of problems that have been creeping in where he’s sensory adverse.  The biggest problem has been dealing with mechanized fans of all kinds.  He dislikes his ceiling fan running, and can’t stand blowers of any kind in restrooms.  (It’s why I often comment on where one can find bathrooms without blowers when we’re out and about.)

But another spot that’s been giving us trouble – getting him a haircut has been… hairy.

The wife has, in the past, managed to give him some basic trims to keep him from getting too unmanageable, but there’s a point where it’s just not effective to keep doing.  He’s struggled and fought against the whole idea of anyone getting anywhere close to his mop… and it’s definitely turned into a mop.  He’s not willing to allow us, generally, to take him over to either of the barber shops around the corner, not without someone being willing to seriously restrain him, and to be honest, most of the staffs at these shops aren’t willing to put up with it either.

Over the last month or two, she’s started to take him to a family friend who has a shop and has the patience to deal with the Monster’s nature.  So a bit at a time, his hair’s gotten trimmed back, but mostly on top and in front, leaving him with… a mullet.  Yeah, that’s a bit too 1980’s for him.

So yesterday, while I was at shul playing gabbai, she took him to try to get some more done, and I joined them afterwards.  It’s still needing a bit more of a touch-up, but with two of us helping to distract/restrain him a bit after I’d arrived, it’s actually looking like there’s a little boy underneath all of that hair.  It’ll probably take another session or two to get him fully cleaned up, but at least it’s not horribly dated of a style anymore.

(I think the part that really amuses me is this – the Monster will perfectly well tolerate a shower, but can’t stand having anyone cut his hair.  R will happily let someone cut his hair, as you can see from the picture above, but hates when people wash his hair.  We just can’t win…)