For mum Caoimhe McGlinchey, taking her three-year-old son Dáithí to get his hair cut can be an extremely stressful situation.
However, this week Derry barbers Criss&Co went the extra mile to make the experience as stress-free as possible.
Dáithí is non-verbal and has a high level of hypersensitivity which makes every day experiences incredibly stressful.
In particular, Dáithí is extremely scared of people coming anywhere near his head or ears, making getting a haircut almost impossible.
Caoimhe spoke to MyDerry about the incredible efforts that salon owner Criss Fisher made to make young Dáithí comfortable.
Caoimhe said: "I put a post on Facebook asking if anyone in Derry could recommend an autism-friendly barbers. A few people suggested Criss&Co, and Criss actually sent me a private message offering his services."
"Criss actually closed his barbers for an hour while we were there so that there was nothing that could overwhelm Dáithí. He made a station up for him with a drink and some sweets and checked with me beforehand if sweets would be okay for him."
When Caoimhe and Dáithí arrived at Criss&Co, they were made to feel comfortable immediately.
Caoimhe said: " When we came in Dáithí sat on the ground straight away, Criss came down to his level which was amazing.
"He sat down beside him on the floor and explained to him what he would be doing today, using scissors to cut his hair.
"When he was cutting his hair if Dáithí began getting upset and moved to a different area of the salon Criss just went and sat with him and continued."
Caoimhe told MyDerry about how much it meant to her for Criss to make extra efforts to make her son more comfortable during what is normally an incredibly anxious time.
She said: " It meant so much to me, as I say I had never met Criss before and he went the extra mile. It means now that trust can be built between him and Dáithí too which is so important.
"Criss did everything in his power to make sure he was safe and that he wasn't going to hurt himself if he had a meltdown. He is a legend, that is the only way to describe him.
"People are so unaware of the challenges that come with what is seen as just a simple outing for other families."
Criss has even arranged for Caoimhe and Dáithí to return every two weeks, for a trim or for Dáithí to just sit in the barbers and allow him to get used to his surroundings.
Salon owner Criss Fisher spoke to MyDerry about wanting to help Caoimhe to the best of his abilities.
He said: "I contacted Caoimhe when I saw her post on Facebook asking for an autism friendly barbers and I instantly thought I want to help.
"I know how hard and stressful being a parent is and I have an extra admiration for parents with kids who have extra needs and I just wanted to be able to ease even the slightest bit of stress for Caoimhe and to make it a bit easier on wee Dáithí too.
"I hope that the more he visits he will get used to me and his surroundings and have a more enjoyable experience every time."
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