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Alexandra Farnese

Short Story 3: Haircuts and Sensory Needs

Mummy and daddy said I needed to get a haircut before I go back to school. I cried when mummy

told me I had to go because I needed to look smart for my teachers, but she said she’s spoken to the

hairdresser about my autism, and they will make it as fun and less scary for me as possible.


Mummy took me to the museum before my haircut. There was an exhi…. something about extinct

animals...that means animals that no longer exist. The woolly mammoth was my favourite because of

its size and the tusks were cool.


After we left the museum we walked into the hairdressers, the lights were very bright, and people

were chatting and laughing very loudly. The hairdresser walked over to me and my mum and told me to sit in the chair. The hairdresser started touching my hair when mum told him what kind of

hairstyle I wanted. I clenched my fist and bit my lip. The pain, anxiety and fear were getting worse. As

soon as the hairdresser took a loud slurp of his water by my ear I screamed, cried, and jumped out the chair. I ran over to mum; she got my eye defen..something out of my bag, put them on me,

hugged me tightly and told me to wait for her in the car as I played with my toys.


I could see mum having a go at the hairdresser from the car window. I had never seen her so angry. When mum came back to the car, it looked like she had been crying and she told me she was so sorry

about what happened but the lady she spoke to on the phone about my autism didn’t tell the

hairdresser about my needs.


The next day mummy spoke to a new hairdresser on the phone. The lady said to come in Tuesday

morning as she doesn’t have any bookings that day and she doesn’t allow walk ins on Tuesdays, and

she has understood everything mummy had told her.


When me and mummy walked into the hairdressers’ the lights were dim and I was so happy there

weren’t any loud noises. I couldn’t wear my eye defen…something but I could have ear buds in to

help with the sounds of the scissors cutting my hair. The lady asked my mum to touch my hair to

show her how I would like it styled. I really do not like anyone touching my hair, but mummy is allowed to when she needs to touch it. The hairdresser told me she needed to turn the lights on above my head to see where she is cutting but will keep the main lights off. I didn’t like this, but I was happy that some of the lights were off. The hairdresser told me when she was going to start cutting my hair and when we were going to have breaks. During our breaks I was talking to mummy about the museum and how I want to go back soon. I was happy she didn’t ask me any stupid questions like other hairdressers have before. The hairdresser told me she was going to the desk to have a drink of water rather than drink it by my ear. The phone did ring once, but the other hairdresser took the phone into another room.


The haircut was over quickly, and I didn’t get very anxious and upset. Both the hairdresser and

mummy said my new hair makes me look smart and handsome and the teachers will think so too. I

do not want to go back to the hairdressers but if I must, I will go back to the nice lady again as she

listened to me and mummy and she was very quick cutting my hair.

 

By Alexandra Farnese

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