Our son – Luka – is four. Luka is autistic. We received the diagnosis the night before his third birthday. I could describe Luka just as I would for a new OT or Speech Therapist, but truly – he is Luka. He is a little boy who wakes up happy, loves trains (but not when they come by our house at 2 am), and who hated haircuts.

Prior to Vernon, haircuts were a challenge. Indeed, it was the item we wrote on every form for every therapist – we’d like for Luka to get a haircut without crying. We did not even add any caveats like sitting alone in his chair, smiling, laughing, or wanting to go for a haircut. Most often the experience was 10 – 15 grueling minutes of physically holding our wailing child as he punched, pushed, or hit us to escape the situation. There was no attempt at styling. We really wanted to reach the end goal – socially acceptable haircut.