Salon helps special needs children with 'Special Sunday' events

Not long ago, we wrote a story about a church that was holding a special Vacation Bible School for those with special needs.

Last week, we had the pleasure of publishing a story about a local hairstylist, Chrissie Shay, who provides free haircuts to special-needs children.

Shay's son, Takota, 5, was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at age 2, and she quickly discovered that haircuts can be an intense and upsetting episode for children on the spectrum.

So, as reporter Ben Matthews pointed out in his story, Shay holds "Special Sunday" events just for special-needs families,

"It's very overwhelming to somebody with specials needs -- the sights, the sounds, the noise, the amount of people, someone you don't know is getting in your face," Shay said. "It's just very overwhelming, so you just have to scale back and let them warm up to you -- let them warm up to the environment and just fit yourself to them instead of expecting them to fit to you."

Shay explains each step in the process before she does any cutting so the children know what to expect and won't be surprised.

She also reduces the lighting and plays soft music.

According to Matthews' story, one mother who moved to Cape Girardeau from Ohio five years ago, said she had struggled to find a local salon that could accommodate her son's needs, and she would schedule her son's haircuts around trips to their previous salon in Ohio. Now she has a place to take her son.

We would like to commend Shay for using her talent and time to make life better for families with special needs children. Shay knows firsthand how difficult life can be with a child on the spectrum. Her service provides a deeply meaningful solution to those who take advantage of her "Special Sunday" events.