In Mentor, Ohio, Marco Conti owns a barber shop. It’s called the Marky Fresh Barbershop.
One day recently, the parents of a 7-year-old brought their son, Brycen, to Marco to have his hair cut. But Brycen was autistic and had to be handled with special care. His parents found out when he was 3 that he did not liked getting his hair messed with at all. It traumatized him, so from that point on they had to be as careful as possible.
But this time, his first school picture day was coming up, and they wanted him to have a professional haircut to look his best. So they scheduled an appointment with Marco, explaining the dilemma they had with their son and his hair. He assured them he would do the best he could under those circumstances.
When the youngster entered the barbershop with his dad, he started crying. He knew what went on there, and he instantly was against it. Of course, this concerned Marco. But he had worked with special needs children before, even ordering earplugs for those youngsters frightened by the noises his electric shavers make. So he asked the young boy if he would feel more comfortable if they went outside for the haircut. The boy nodded yes.
With that, Marco picked up one of his waiting chairs and took it outside and into the sunshine. And a short time after he started cutting the boy’s hair, he calmed down a great deal, making Marco’s job a lot easier. The boy got a great haircut, and Marco was glad he could accommodate him and make him feel better during the haircut.
The youngster’s parents were extremely pleased with Marco going out of his way to handle the situation and put their son at ease.
Says the boy’s mom, Ashley: “To have a company so willing to accommodate is such a relief on my end or my husband’s end. It’s pretty fantastic. I found if you reach out, there are good people that are willing to help you.”
When the boy’s haircut was posted on social media, he received a lot of attention. Most everyone commented that Marco did a great thing by doing something significant to calm the boy’s fears.
