Wyatt is 6 years old, and getting a haircut has never been easy for him.
Children with autism often feel overwhelmed by the noise, the touch, and the stillness a barber’s chair requires. Wyatt doesn’t stay seated. He walks around the shop, stops, and sometimes lies down on the floor. His mother, Fauve Lafrenière, has been taking him to the barbershop of Francis “Franz” Jacob, in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, since the day it opened, two years ago.
Rather than ask the boy to adapt, Franz adapted to him. He bought a cordless clipper so he could follow him around without being tethered, and when needed, he lay down on the floor to keep cutting. A photo of the scene was shared all over the internet last week, and Franz, 45, admits he wasn’t expecting so much attention.
For him, it’s not an isolated gesture. He serves other children with autism and special needs, and a single haircut can take up to 90 minutes. “There are no tears, no screams. We enjoy it together”, he says. He also shaves people in their final days who want to look good one more time. He’s been cutting hair since he was 12, and today there’s a line at the door every morning, with clients who drive three or four hours to sit in his chair.
