Young Wexford girl with autism overcomes her sensory fears to raise money for charity

In December 2023, Aoife O’Sullivan from Camolin told her mother Imelda that she wanted to cut all her hair off and raise money so she could bring all her friends on a day out.

Cutting her hair is a particularly big deal for Aoife as she avoids the hairdresser at the best of times because of her sensory issues with bright lights and loud noises. "She admits it’s going to be hard and tough but she’s going to do it. We’re very proud of her, she’s so brave,” said her mother Imelda Murphy.

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Aoife is in third class in Camolin National School and is the youngest of six kids. "She loves school and she has an SNA that helps her with her work. She loves people and she loves her friends. Noises and stuff like that, sometimes it can be too loud but they get movement breaks,” said Imelda.

She says they hope to donate Aoife’s hair to The Rapunzel Foundation, an Irish organisation which accepts ponytail donations of over 14 inches in length to provide wigs and partial wig funding to long term hair loss sufferers.

She’s planning on getting it cut on April 23 with sensory hairdresser Aisling Brennan at His and Hers Hair Salon in Gorey. Aisling opens up the salon after hours in the evenings to cater to people with special needs.

“Not many people know Aisling is there, and she doesn’t just do it for Advocates For Autism, she does it for anybody with special needs. She takes as much time as you need and she’s really good,” said Mary Durrant who started running Advocates For Autism over a year and a half ago.

Advocates For Autism is a registered charity that supports families and children on the autism spectrum. It aims to empower and uplift the children so they become more independent and confident and to create a nurturing environment where they can flourish and reach their full potential.

In the last year and a half, the group has grown from 13 families to 59 families who travel from Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow to be apart of it.

"They all travel because there’s nothing like what we do anywhere near where they are. We don’t tell anybody no. We even had a woman from Kildare message me last week because she saw that we were in Dublin Zoo.”

"It’s hugely important to have a service like this available for families. My son he’s 11 and has Autism, I needed it, not just for him but for me. It is needed, we’re a charity so even trying to come up with funds and funding, we’re literally just a group of parents, we’re not CEOs of companies, we’re just parents, trying to do what’s best for our children socially,” Mary.

Only a small number of people will be present for Aoife’s hair cut but Mary hopes to join them to take a few photos and mark the special occasion.

"She’s going to go as short as she can so she doesn’t have to get it done again. We really appreciate what she’s doing because it’s a huge amount of money and she’s not the only child that’s going to benefit from it. She wants an outing so we’re going to give her the biggest outing,” said Mary.

The GoFundMe page has already raised €1,760 and the target is set at €2,000.

The funds raised from Aoife’s hair cut will go towards a big trip to Emerald Park during the summer.

The group do weekly and monthly outings and they try to organise most of their outings for Sundays so both parents can attend. Most recently they took a trip to Dublin Zoo.

They also do horse-riding at Happy Trials once a month, and trips to places like Kids Zone and Pirates Cove. Mary says the group is as much for the adults as it is for the children, as it gives them a chance to speak to other parents that understand.

Anyone who would like to donate, can do so via the ‘Haircut for Autism’ page on gofundme.com or by clicking here.