Families Travel 530 Miles for Neurodivergent Haircuts at Suffolk Salon
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17
Families Travel 530 Miles for Neurodivergent Haircuts at Suffolk Salon
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17
Summary
530 miles is the round trip Alex Nicolau’s family still makes from Aberdeen to Lowestoft four times a year because Blade Inclusive Salon keeps the autistic seven-year-old calm enough to want a haircut.
Blade’s Sensory Studio was built to reduce the noise, touch and clipper stress that often make haircuts traumatic for neurodivergent children, using a quieter space, toys and a slower trust-building approach.
210 miles is the round trip Gary Newman makes for his autistic, non-verbal son Oliver, who once had to be held in the chair but now asks when his next haircut is.
284 sensory haircuts were carried out between January and April, and owner Caroline Parnis says demand now draws clients from across England and Scotland.
More than 1 in 100 people in the UK are autistic, and Parnis says growing awareness is pushing salons to become more neurodiverse-friendly as she plans training courses.