When it comes to being the parent of a child with additional needs, certain things can present as an extra challenge.
These can for the most part be things that, to most parents, we don’t even think twice about. Such as shopping for food or clothing, visiting the dentist or doctor, or, indeed, bringing your little one for a haircut.
This is what one Dublin mum is looking to change, as she launches a GoFundMe campaign to help her realise her dream of opening a sensory barber’s shop, all designed for those with additional needs.
Emma Doyle is a barber, and a single mum of five children – one of which has Asperger’s Syndrome. So, Doyle explains, she knows first hand the challenges that can arise for children and adults with additional needs when it comes to receiving a haircut.
“For a person with additional needs, like autism, who often struggle with the environment of a regular barber’s, the noises, small spaces, bright lighting, and fast pace can just be so overwhelming and too much to take, Doyle explains.
“And as for wheelchair users in Dublin, trying to find a barbershop that they can access freely, well, it is nearly impossible.”
In order to try to realise her dream of setting up a barber’s shop specially designed and fitted for those with additional needs, Doyle has set up a GoFundMe page to help make this a reality.
Planning to make the barber’s a calming space, with adjustments that can make the process of a haircut a totally different experience for clients, Doyle reveals to Herfamily.ie that she hopes to raise enough funds to open a fully equipped sensory sensitive and wheelchair accessible barbers in Dublin.
“Knowing,” she explains, “that it would really make a difference to so many.”
She adds:
“I personally understand what a shop like this would mean to people and their lives, and I fully understand the care and patience that will be needed for this venture,” Doyle explains.
“And I cannot wait to start!”
