An eight year old boy, who happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome, has done something that few boys his age would willingly choose to do. He grew out his hair until it was long enough to be donated to an organization that helps children who have medical conditions that result in hair loss.
Gavin Shelton is an eight year old boy who has Asperger’s Syndrome. It is an autism spectrum disorder, and has sometimes been referred to as “high functioning autism”. Some of the symptoms of this disorder include difficulties with understanding and appropriately using social skills.
Gavin was diagnosed when he was very young, and has been receiving therapy since he was in preschool. A therapist works with him on facial recognition exercises that help him to correctly discern the emotions that another person is feeling based on the expression that appears on that person’s face.
This year, Gavin will be in third grade. Typically, this is not the easiest time, socially speaking, for a boy to decide to grow his blond hair into long, flowing, locks. In a show of support, his father, Scott Shelton, decided that he would grow out his own hair while his son was doing it.
There is an organization called Children With Hair Loss. This is the group that Gavin decided to donate his hair to. He made this selection after doing online research about various organizations that accept donations of hair.
He choose Children With Hair Loss because he wanted to do something that would help children, and he wanted to help kids that have cancer or burns. Gavin’s father was a volunteer firefighter, and his grandfather is a firefighter. Perhaps this influenced the boy’s decision making process.
Children With Hair Loss offers human hair replacements to children who have experienced medically related hair loss. In order to make a donation of hair to this organization, a person must grow out their hair until they have at least eight inches in length that they can cut off and donate. They prefer that the hair is non-chemically treated, but will also accept hair that has been chemically treated that is in good condition. The hair must be clean, dry, and secured in a braid or pony tail.
Locks of Love is another organization that accepts donations of human hair. This group provides hairpieces for children who lost their hair due to a medical condition that is called alopecia areata. Hair that is donated must be at least ten inches in length. Again, the hair must be secured in a braid or pony tail, and it must be in good condition.
Image by Katrina Wiese on Flickr