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.

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?

A Boy Less Ordinary (Rebecca’s blog) - https://aboylessordinary.com/

PDA Society - https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/

Jem’s Hair brush - https://amzn.eu/d/0dTSItLZ

India’s hair brush - https://amzn.eu/d/072vd0L6

India’s coconut scented hair brush - https://amzn.eu/d/05Er65tF

Nit comb - https://amzn.eu/d/00cSPgcz

Grappling with Personal Hygiene episode of Neuroshambles - https://neuroshambles.com/episode/grappling-with-personal-hygiene-rebecca-huseyin

Wash and Go - https://amzn.eu/d/0cmgCDdU

Danielle Jata-Hall / “PDA Parenting” - https://pdaparenting.com/

Hairport (Brighton) - https://www.brightonhairport.co.uk/

EAG Expo, Docklands - https://www.eagexpo.com/

🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com

📧 Email: hello@neuroshambles.com

📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles

🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod

📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles

🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: pixabay.com