Social Story about visiting 'The Hairy Planet' Salon

When you visit the Hairy Planet, you arrive in the playroom.
There are toys, books, blocks, a TV and a games console.
We have a soft area called the den where you can relax and play on our big hairy floor cushions. There are DVD's and computer games to choose - or you can read, build blocks, play with trains.
There are chairs for your parents too.

You will see bubbles, spinners and buzzy toys, and there are people and other children to play with.

Playing in the den area

Some of the games help you learn how to cope with getting a hair cut.
Some of these games are called:
Snipping Circles, Buzzy Bugs and The Wiggler!

We use lots of hair dresser things when we play, and some games are very silly and fun - like spraying water on our heads!

Learning to spray and comb

You learn how to spray and comb or brush your own hair in the mirror.
You learn how to use words or pictures to say when you are calm and ready.
You choose your favourite colour towel.
You choose where you want to sit.
You choose what you want to play with.
Girls can choose pretty hair slides, clips and hair ties.
You can choose scissors or clippers to get your hair cut.
You choose what to watch on the DVD player.

You can watch and talk about other children just like you getting their hair cut.

Choosing a DVD to watch can help

Hair cuts do not hurt. This is because your hair does not have any feelings.
So when Jenny's gentle scissors trim your hair, you don't not feel anything.
Sometimes the buzzy feel of the clippers can make you feel uncomfortable, but we can help you, and stop for a few minutes if you need a break.
Having a hair cut can be quick too - especially if you are playing computer games or watching a DVD. You can even hold onto the sand timer.


Sitting still really helps. If you can sit still, haircuts can be finished really quickly.
Then it's playtime again! You get a whole hour to play with whatever you like at the Hairy Planet.

The people who help you play at the Hairy Planet are called Claire, Jenny, Karen and Anna.
You can bring your own favourite toys, and your brothers or sisters can get a hair cut too.

No stress! Sometimes, you might need to come for a few visits before you will feel ready to get a hair cut.

Relax and watch a DVD

You'll be so proud of yourself when you go home looking very smart and have tidy hair!

And when it is time to go home - you can choose a lolly, bubbles or crayons to take home.










For more information, videos and booking the Hairy Planet: http://www.hometrain.ie/hairyplanet/

Giving Choice and Control to Cope with Haircuts

Well The Hairy Planet - the Hair Therapy for Kids Salon is running, and here's my thoughts so far on what's the secret to the sucess of the Hairy Planet programme:

When preparing children for any invasive proceedure, there are three important factors:
1) Preparation
2) Choice
3) Control

Making Choices for Coping

These 3 cover the basics of what is required to help cope with a stressful or fearful situation.
We have to remember at all times that fear of hair cuts 'Tonsurephobia' - be it a perceived fear of pain or not - is a very real fear. Tonsurephobia can have several influencing factors, including sensory dysfunction, imaginery perception of pain, and fear related to a stressful incident (possibly a bad home hair cut experience...)

The fear that many toddlers have of parents trimming their nails is a significant reference - we can relate this when we examine how young children with special needs have the ability to rationalise or distinguish pain and the fear of pain as easily as typically developing children. How children with special needs experience and express pain is an important factor. There are many children who are reported to have a high pain threshold i.e can run head first into a door and carry on about their business. But when faced with a hairbrush, will fly into a panic. Sound familiar??
As a trained Hospital Play Specialist, I used techniques to prepare children for sugery and other invasive proceedures, and the Hair Therapy programme has it's roots in the same theories and protocols.
The 'Hair Therapy' approach is both behavioural and cognitive - with a combination of preparation, choice and control learned at every step.
Here's one example: We use our 'Buzzy Bugs' game to: 1) Experience the sensation of the clippers 2) learn to control the clippers with the Stop, Wait and Go traffic lights.
Having control over the buzzy bugs is just one way how we teach the children to request verbally or using traffic light PECS how we control the clippers. Eventually, we introduce the small clippers to touch, hold and turn on and off using the same principles.

Learning Control and Desensitization

Making choices and learning about different sensation is vital - but we are also adding group dynamics into the mix.
The therapuetic value of groupwork in the Hairy Planet accounts for a great deal of its success. Whilst children attend, they are observing other children having hair cuts and learning to cope in the same way. There is no pressure, parents and children alike are relaxed, mums and dads can come and go when needed.
The children attending learn by observing others, playing out their fears and learning to cope with their difficulties in a child-friendly environment.

There is more about the Hair Therapy and videos here: The Hairy Planet