SELINSGROVE — Amy Kleman watched in awe and with gratitude as her 7-year-old son, Jason, let Pedro Reyes cut his hair Saturday afternoon at Insta-Glam Hair and Nails Salon in Selinsgrove.
“I don’t know what’s happening. This is the first time he’s sat in a chair,” the Lewisburg mother said of her autistic son. “Getting his hair cut usually takes 1 1/2 hours and usually everybody’s in tears and sweating at the end.”
It took Reyes, assisted by Insta-Glam Hair and Nails salon co-owners Jenna Matzinger and Angie Ortiz, about 30 minutes to finish the boy’s haircut.
It was the second special event held at the 49 Airport Road salon catering to people with specials needs.
The salon is closed to other customers on days when they open the door to patrons with special needs. Music is turned off, the television is only on when it will help soothe a customer and lights can be dimmed.
Matzinger and Reyes each have children with autism and understand the difficulty many parents have in getting services that cater to their special needs.
“For me, it’s a new experience,” said Ortiz. “It’s the first time I’m getting close to special needs kids.”
Reyes, who worked for 10 years as a certified nursing assistant, said his past work and raising an autistic child help him to work with people of all abilities.
“The behaviors can be drastic,” he said. Some customers flail, yell, bounce and bolt from the chair during a haircut which could be a safety issue “especially with sharp objects.”
There is a bin of sensory toys, bubbles, and bags of lollipops offered whenever needed.
Reyes, Matzinger and Ortiz cater to individual needs, including cutting one child’s hair sitting on the floor.
“If we don’t finish it, I tell them to come back and we’ll try again,” said Reyes.
Matzinger said she’s glad to provide a service that is needed and helps acclimate people with special needs to interacting in the community.
“You have to practice,” she said. “The more you do it, the better it will get.”
When Jason Kleman walked tentatively into the salon with his mother Saturday afternoon, he immediately began exploring and ran for the staircase.
After a few minutes, the boy returned to the main salon and was promptly coaxed into sitting in the chair. Then Reyes, Matzinger and Ortiz gently surrounded the boy and Matzinger put a cape around the child.
It was the first time Jason didn’t balk at having the cape around his neck, said Amy Kleman.
The boy made faces in the mirror as Reyes clipped his brown hair and reassured him.
Amy Kleman said getting a haircut is so often a difficult experience for her son that it only happens about three times a year.
“He’s nervous. It’s a sensory overload,” she said, adding she will bring him back to the salon. “It’s a game-changer for us. I don’t want every experience for him to be scary or overwhelming.”
The salon will be holding another event for special needs customers on April 29. For an appointment, call 570-884-8211.
