Billy Dinerstein was sorting out his barber tools when a woman started banging on the window of his Nutley, New Jersey, salon.
“The grand opening is tomorrow,” he said as he walked outside.
The woman pointed to the “Your Kind of Cut” logo, which uses puzzle pieces to spell out “Kind,” a common symbol of the complexity of autism.
“Does this logo mean cutting hair for autistic children?'' she asked, and Billy answered, “Yes,'' and there were tears in her eyes.
“How far in advance can I make a reservation for a 10-year-old child?”
Back inside, Billy remembered another mother, Jackie Ramos, who had called Billy after injuring her young son. “If you ever leave this barbershop, please tell me where you're going,” she begged. “Matthew is autistic, and you're the first barber he's ever had his hair cut by.''
At the time, Billy didn't even know what autism was. But then, as he educated himself and his parents spread the word, he realized that he didn't just have a job, it was his calling.
So when the coronavirus outbreak hit, Billy took a leap of faith.
From the beginning, Billy knew his store needed to be different. Instead of old magazines, he stocked the waiting room with books with textured pages and sensory toys. My parents were happy, but also wary.
“The last time my son got his hair cut, it took four people to hold him down,” said one nervous father.
“There may be tears, but I won't hold your child down. There's no need to,” Billy vowed, and the parents' skeptical smiles seemed to say, “I understand.” It was.
Billy's soothing words and demeanor were always enough to calm the child down and get him into the barber's chair. Billy placed another chair three feet away for his parents and said, “Please calm down. If you are nervous and upset, your child will be too.”
“This will blow your hair off,” he says as he demonstrates the blow dryer, then goes to work with clippers in one hand and blower in the other while kids clutch fidget spinners and toys. I went. track.
“You're so brave!” Billy would encourage. “It's almost finished, so pick out a toy to keep.”
Some children with autism and other sensory disorders cannot tolerate being touched. “For my 7-year-old Asher, it's like a pin prick,” says James Brill. “He was kicking and screaming a lot. Then a friend told me and my wife about Billy. He would do anything to help!”
At the end of each cut, Billy says, “I'm so proud of you.” These are words that many children take to heart. Like the boy whose mother called Billy after a doctor's appointment. “It's always hard to let him go,” she said in a choked voice. “But today he came in and did a full body scan. He said, 'I'm going to be brave, just like Billy taught me.'
Word of Billy's Barber Shop has spread, and some customers come from as far away as Colorado. “I'm not a therapist or a teacher. I just cut hair,” Billy says modestly. “It's the best feeling when the kids come in crying. And at the end, they're smiling and the mom is crying…tears of joy!”
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