Francis “Franz” Jacob lay on the floor and carried on with the haircut.
The scene took place in 2017, in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Wyatt Lafrenière was 6 years old and autistic, with a hypersensitivity to sound and touch that made a simple haircut overwhelming. His mom, Fauve, had struggled to find someone who understood what he needed, until at Franz’s barbershop no one asked the boy to behave like everyone else.
Franz bought a cordless clipper so he could follow Wyatt around the shop if he got up, and when Wyatt lay down on the floor, he did the same. Each session could last up to 90 minutes, with breaks, games, and music, and he served terminally ill people who wanted to be groomed one last time without charging them.
Fauve posted the photo on Facebook on September 24, 2017, and it went viral. Weeks later, Franz was applauded in Canada’s Senate, though he said he was just doing his job well.
