Haircuts

Ryan recieved his first haircut at a typical age (around a year??) and it was uneventful, as where the next couple. Then Ryan turned 2. Haircuts became a source of anxiety, fear, and stress. I couldn't take Ryan to get a haircut without help, because it took two of us to hold him down, restrain his arms and legs and hold his head straight. There is a salon that caters to children here in Fargo called Lil Whipper Snippers. This place has chairs designed for kids, little tv's that play movies or video games, bubbles that blow from the ceiling, fun designs on the walls, toys etc...everything that should put a child at ease and entertain them during a 5-10 minute haircut. Not Ryan. His dad or step-dad had to hold him on their lap, legs wrapped around his, and holding his arms crossed around his body. Then I had to hold his head so the (wonderful, patient, amazing) stylist could attempt to cut his hair. He would SCREAM, cry, thrash, kick, and bite. We all would be covered in hair, his sticking to his face and neck because he was so sweaty from fighting it. His eyes and cheeks would be red for a day or two because he would burst blood vessels. I would tip her $10 and leave ashamed, embarrassed and devestated for Ryan, that such a small thing (in my mind) could be so incredibly awful and traumatic for him. They would try to reassure me that he wasn't the only kid that had these issues, but I couldn't believe that. I thought he was the worst they'd ever seen and they were trying to be polite. After 3 years of this, I gave up. I gave up on the thought he would ever get used to it, I gave up the thought of him having a cute and stylish hairstyle, I gave up a little bit on him.
Then we started cutting his hair during Occupational Therapy. He was able to hold the shaver, and cut his own hair, with me finishing up the uneven parts. He made such huge gains when he had control over the situation. He still hated the hair falling on his face, arms, back, neck and chest but he was learning to tolerate it. He also started to realize that it was a lot better when he sat still. So we continued this way for over a year.
A couple months ago, I thought it might be time to try the salon again, since he'd been doing so well at home. I asked him first, if he thought he'd like to go there and sit in the chair and have someone cut his hair. He said yes, and was very excited about it. I made the appointment with high hopes! When we arrived, Ryan was very happy and excited, while I was nervous and hopeful. Overall, it went fairly well. He still had some issues but he was able to sit alone and receive a decent haircut!! I was very proud of him. Then last week we went to the salon again for his summer haircut. I was completely blown-away by Ryan during this haircut. He sat and played the Shrek video game throughout the whole cut. He politely told Bridget that he didn't want her to spray his hair with water, and so they compromised with her spraying her hand and wiping in his hair instead. This was fine with him. By the end, he had a spikey hair-do with blue paint gel on the tips!!! HOLY COW...
All things in time.