A hair salon in the centre of Sheffield has opened a room especially for children with autism or any learning difficulties.

The Cutting Crew, a unisex hair salon on London Road, opened up a room on the upper floor of their salon that aims to give parents somewhere that they can confidently take there children for a haircut.

Kathy Chisholm, who has worked at the salon for 37 years and has a son with autism, and runs the room.

Marie Jacques, a hairdresser, said : “The uptake has been good and we’ve been really busy”.

The British Medical Association estimates there are around 700 000 people in the UK alone with autism spectrum disorder, and whilst it can affect people in multiple ways, it is common for people with autism to struggle with bright lights and loud noises.

The room is separate from the rest of the salon to help with this, and has dimmable lights and lots of toys, and as many of the children don’t like sitting on chairs for their haircuts; The Cutting Crew will happily cut their hair whilst sat on the ground.

Lisa Bradley, a journalism lecturer at the University of Sheffield, who has an 11 year old child with autism, spoke about the challenges of raising a child on the autism spectrum. Miss. Bradley said: “The constant noise of a salon can be very overwhelming

“It’s great that they’re showing an awareness that children need not to be over stimulated.”

The salon also offers haircuts to adults and is open Monday to Saturday.