What are Special needs?

Any of various difficulties (such as a physical, emotional, behavioral, or learning disability or impairment) that causes an individual to require additional or specialized services or accommodations (such as in education or recreation)​

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What are the main types of Special Needs?

  There are many types of special needs that are split into four main categories:

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• Physical special needs: Physical Special needs are a type of special needs that involves physical needs. A person can be born with physical special needs or may get them later in life.  A person born with special needs may adapt to the world around him easily, whereas a person who develops a physical special need later in life might have a tougher time trying to get used to the new normal. Common types of physical special needs are allergies, asthma, limb differences, epilepsy, etc.

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• Developmental special needs: Developmental special needs are the children that act 3 years younger than their age because their maturity doesn't develop like regular children. Some types of developmental special needs are down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.

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• Behavioral/emotional special needs: Behavioral/emotional special needs are special needs that involve emotions and how that child reacts to certain things. Children with this disorder cannot properly express how they feel and may behave differently, they are not able to communicate like regular children. This makes it hard for people to understand why the child is behaving in that certain way. Some types of behavior emotional special needs are ADD/ADHD, OCD, disassociation, eating disorders, etc.

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• Sensory-impaired special needs: Children with sensory-impaired special needs have stronger senses than regular kids. Their sense of hearing, smell, and touch are more sensitive than ours. The child may be bothered by a quiet noise that is louder for them than for us. Their sense of smell is stronger, so lighter scents might be too strong and may irritate them, which could cause them to cry or run away. Their sense of touch is more sensitive, they may not like the feeling or texture of something or someone and may become upset and want to be away from it. 

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What causes the child to have stronger senses?

Their brain often has trouble organizing and responding to all of the sensory information they are receiving. Some types of tastes, smells, feelings, or sights may cause a "sensory overload" to the child. This type of sensory processing challenge is called oversensitivity in which a child might avoid the sensation that is triggering the sensory overload. 

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Why does the child cry during a haircut?

Often the child is scared because they associate the word "cut" with pain and think that the haircut will hurt them. They might also cry because of something in the salon which disturbs them, such as the smell of cleaning supplies, the sound and feeling of the clippers or scissors, or the feeling of the hair falling on them. Sometimes the child is not comfortable with a stranger (stylist) touching or cutting their hair. 

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How to help the child calm down during the haircut?

Some things that may help the child calm down are:

• Child’s favorite snack/toy/object, etc.

• Continuous conversation with words of encouragement, motivation, and comfort.

• Keeping the child distracted with iPad/TV/books, etc.

• Bringing some help along, like the mom, dad, favorite sibling, grandparents, therapist, etc.

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How can you have a successful haircut?

To have a successful haircut:

• Make sure that the child isn't hungry, sleepy, or in need to use the restroom before the haircut.

• Be familiar with the salon so that the child is more comfortable with the environment and with the stylists.

• Request the salon for a quieter time and some extra time for the haircut.

• Bring a favorite toy, snack, book, etc to keep the child calm.

• Promise a small reward or treat at the end of the haircut, this would help the child associate something good with the haircut and will hopefully look forward to it next time.

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How to prepare the child for the haircut day?

Doing some of these activities can help the child prepare for the haircut.​

• Reading a fun children's storybook about getting a haircut.

• Doing some fun coloring activities, related to haircuts, may help the child associate haircut with fun rather than fear.

• Taking a tour of the salon, and visiting it a couple of times before getting the actual haircut, would help the child be more familiar with the place.

• Showing them cartoons or fun videos of children getting haircuts.

• Going over a step-by-step picture guide with photos of the salon, stylist, tools, etc.