Sara Zahan gets a warm feeling when she sees her son Saraf standing in front of a mirror at home, brushing his hair and admiring his moptop coif.
She and her husband haven’t had success taking their affectionate and playful nine-year-old — who is non-verbal, and diagnosed with Level 3 autism spectrum disorder — to a barber or hairstylist. So, they manage haircuts themselves, with strategies like quick trims while Saraf’s asleep.
Given that sensitivity, the couple was shocked earlier this month when they found Saraf distraught and acting aggressively toward them and his caregivers, after one of his classroom educators — a
