How One Barber’s Kindness is Transforming Haircuts for Kids with Autism

Billy Dinnerstein was arranging his barber tools when a woman began tapping on the window of his Nutley, New Jersey, salon.

“Grand opening’s tomorrow,” he said, stepping outside. 

The woman pointed to the “Your Kind of Cut” logo that used puzzle pieces to spell out “Kind”—a common symbol for the complexity of autism. 

“Does this logo mean you cut hair for kids with autism?” she asked, and when Billy said yes, tears appeared in her eyes.

“How soon can I make an appointment for my 10-year-old?”

Stepping back inside, Billy recalled Jackie Ramos, another mom who’d called Billy after he’d given her little boy a cut. “If you ever leave this barbershop, please let us know where you’re going,” she pleaded. “Matthew has autism, and you’re the first barber he’s ever let cut his hair.” 

Back then, Billy didn’t even know what autism was. But he had since educated himself, and as parents spread the word, he realized he didn’t just have a job—it was his calling. 

So when Covid-19 struck, Billy took the plunge.

From the very start, Billy knew his shop needed to be different. Instead of old magazines, he stocked his waiting area with textured-page books and sensory-friendly toys. Parents were delighted but also wary.

“The last time my son got a haircut, it took four people to hold him down,” related one nervous dad.

“There may be tears, but I will not hold your child down—I won’t have to,” Billy vowed, and the parents’ skeptical smiles seemed to say, We’ll see.

Billy’s soothing words and demeanor would invariably calm the child enough to coax him into the barber chair. Billy would position another chair three feet away for the parents, saying, “Try to stay calm. If you’re nervous and upset your child will be too.”

“This is going to blow away the hair,” he’d say as he demonstrated the blow dryer, and then he’d go to work with clippers in one hand and the blower in the other while the child clutched a fidget spinner or toy truck.

“You are being so brave!” Billy would encourage. “I’m almost done, and then you can pick out a toy to keep.”

Some kids with autism and other sensory disorders simply can’t bear being touched. “For my 7-year-old, Asher, it’s like being jabbed with pins,” says James Brill. “He used to kick and scream. Then a friend told me and my wife about Billy. He does whatever it takes to help!”

At the end of each cut, Billy says, “I’m so proud of you”—words many kids take to heart. Like the little boy whose mom called Billy after a doctor’s appointment. “Usually it’s a struggle getting him to go,” she choked. “But today he walked in and did his whole checkup. He said, ‘I’m going to be brave—like Billy taught me.’” 

As word of Billy’s barber shop spread, some customers travel from as far away as Colorado for a visit. “I’m not a therapist or a teacher—I just cut hair,” Billy says modestly. “It’s a great feeling when the kids come in crying, and by the end, the kids are smiling and the mom’s crying…tears of joy!”