The knotty issue of hair care | Rebecca Huseyin - Neuroshambles

Mark is joined by returning guest Rebecca Hussain for a hilarious chat about the perils of trying to introduce any kind of hair care routine to our neurodivergent kids. It’s a knotty issue for loads of Neuroshambolic families - whether it's brushing, washing, cutting it or trying to navigate dreaded nit combs.

Mark and Rebecca unpick why hair-related stuff can be so dysregulating for our autistic, ADHD or PDA kids - from sensory overwhelm and loss of control, to the irrepressible instinct to run away when someone approaches them with a brush and they're already feeling overwhelmed.

Rebecca explains her role as night time hair brushing ninja and Mark recounts the horror story of the time he tried to trim India's fringe himself. They also dig into the awkward realities of salons and barbers, the compromises that sometimes (briefly) work, and the grim truth that a lot of so-called “simple” solutions don’t feel simple at all when you’re parenting a child with a PDA profile, ADHD traits, or autism-related sensory sensitivities.

If you’re after autistic parenting advice that feels human rather than preachy, this one will have you nodding, laughing and cringing in equal measure.

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00:37 - Intro
00:01:07 - Meet the guest: Rebecca Huseyin
00:05:36 - What’s the topic of the week? Hair care
00:08:01 - Haircuts: clippers, salons and pure dread
00:13:16 - Dealing with brushing & knots - night time ninja brushing
00:21:40 - Sensory overload: why hair care causes so much overwhelm
00:25:25 - The drama of washing their hair
00:42:34 - Barbers/hairdressers: trusting a stranger with scissors
00:47:15 - Products, routines and reducing the stakes
00:55:08 - The reason some neurodivergent’s prefer long hair
00:58:10 - The lengths we go to for a haircut
01:03:12 - Not wanting people to notice their hair
01:05:47 - Reliving Mark’s trauma of cutting India’s fringe
01:18:17 - A surprising India haircut success story
01:21:04 - It’s not all rubbish: looking at the Positives
01:22:22 - Neurodiversity Champions
01:26:10 - Tiny Epic Wins
01:31:18 - What the Flip Moments?