Community Corner
The Hair Hub Make Haircuts a Little Easier for Children with Autism
Getting a haircut may seem to have nothing to do with autism awareness – until you ask the parent of a child with autism.
“Along with a trip to the dentist, taking my child for a hair cut is one of my worst nightmares,” said one mother of a 9 year-old child with autism. “It terrifies him, so we often just skip it, or I try to trim his hair when he is asleep – you can imagine how that looks.”
That is why the Hair Hub is working with the Phoenix Center, a private, not-for-profit school serving children with disabilities located in Nutely, to help its students get a spring hair cut.
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This month, fifteen Phoenix Center students traveled to Hawthorn with their teachers to the Hair Hub. The salon closed its doors to the public to create a peaceful atmosphere.
Salon owner Joyce Orricho has been in business for 38 years and said she wanted to give back to the community during April, which Governor Chris Christie has declared Autism Awareness Month in New Jersey. Orricho has a personal connection: not only does her daughter have a nephew with autism, but several of her employees have either a child or grandchild with autism.
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Since January, the Phoenix Center staff and teachers have been working with students to help them prepare for the sights and sounds of the salon. They have been teaching the children to tolerate haircuts by gradually exposing them to the steps involved.
“We could not do the work we do without the help and support of local business owners like Joyce,” said Dr. Geraldine Gibbia, co-founder and Executive Director of The Phoenix Center. “The community is our classroom, and we are so grateful to have local leaders open their doors to support our children as partners.”
Now in its 22nd year, The Phoenix Center serves roughly 150 students with autism and other complex multiple disabilities from communities throughout northern and metro New Jersey. The school is approved and monitored by the state of New Jersey. Students are placed by their local school district, and attend at no cost to parents.
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