Looking after our autistic kids hair

I'm a proud mama.  All my kids have gorgeous locks of beautiful multi-tonal auburn, blonde and brown hair.  They are gorgeous.  But given two of them have autism and with that a large range of sensory needs. I'm happy to share some of the things that have worked for us in the dealing with their hair; brushing, washing, cutting and helping them with pesky nits.

General hair care

Looking after a kids hair when they don't like getting touched, pulled or possibly even wet can be
really challenging.

We are fortunate that neither of the boys' hair tangles or knots.  But Jane's definitely does.  Indeed she has the most knotted hair in the family without a doubt. And that's how we found detangle hairbrushes.

If you like using a regular shaped hair brush which can be helpful for familiarity reason's then the Tangle Tamer is great - for less strokes go with a Tangle Teezer - it's got a bigger surface area and so needs less brushing.  Both these makes removing tangles and knots relatively tug free and that's a big bonus.  The bristles are soft and generally make brushing any of kids hair easier.

When it comes to washing, it can be challenging.  We still use no-tears shampoos aimed at babies because we find they are the softest and easiest to get out with only a little rinsing.  Some of the ones that smell nicemake is easier too as it can calm the kids.

Cutting

While Anthony now manages to go to the hairdressers, this is still impossible for David.  There's just too much going on, he doesn't trust what's happening or anything going on near his head like this. We can't even make the Me Too & Co hairdressing sessions which are great if your kid is sensitive.

However, we did find calming clippers - and they work great.  They are scissors that have been adapted so they have them same guides on them that electric razors do.  Now you get some fantastic hair dressers who go the extra mile for kids like ours, but if this still doesn't work, then calming clippers might be worth looking at.

Nits and head lice

We did not get a single case of head live in our family home until Jane, our youngest, started school last year.  Some mix of her being the only girl, being social and having long hair means if there was a case of nits in the class, then we got them.  Can because we still do a fair amount of co sleeping as a means to actually get some sleep, either I would get them or her brother David would.

Jane, understands that we have to help her head if it's itchy, but our pre-verbal son David, does not. He's not great with washing his hair full stop so when it came to helping our home with head lice I had to look around at what would work for us.

Hedrin do three products that work well for us.  Hedrin Once is good because it works really quickly.  If your kid can stand having their head sprayed with this stuff then it is brilliant, with everything done in 15 minutes and then time to wash it off.  It is however really thick and greasy which means lots of washing to get it out.

The one that works best for David is the Treat and Go Mousse.  Because the mousse is squirted into your hand and then onto your hair, it's not as strange feeling as having something sprayed onto your head.  I can sit with David and he'll let me apply it gently. Then the best part for him.. it stays in for eight hours at least and gets washed out when you next wash your hair.  It can look a bit grubby in the meantime but this allows us just to wash David's hair 'as normal' next time and this makes the whole process much easier.

Our last help is that you can also get preventative sprays to help stop the lice in the first place.  I get it out as soon as there is a mention of lice at any of the schools now.  We also make sure Jane's hair is tied back preferably in a plait so there is less chance of hair touching.   These ideas helps our sensitive kids not have to worry about nits at all.

If you've got any great tips for looking after the hair of sensitive, autistic or additional needs kids (or adults actually) I'd love to hear them.

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I was contacted by Hedrin to run a giveaway and as users of their products 

was happy to include it in this post. This giveaway has now closed.

Conditions: UK  Residents only. Entrants must be aged over 18.  Entry is via Rafflecopter.  Entries can be made up until midnight on Friday 1st June 2018.  Two winners will be chosen from all valid entries at random the day after closing.  The winner will be contacted within a week of the closing date and have one week to respond.  The Prize is one bottle of Hedrin Once per each of two winners (chosen and sent direct from Hedrin).  An alternative product of similar or higher value may be sent if stock is unavailable.  No cash alternative.  Any data collected will only be used solely for the purpose of contacting you should you win the competition and will not be used or stored by me for any other reason.  Check further details about Rafflecopter's privacy here or see my policy below.