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'Blue rinse' dad dyes hair for
autistic sons
26.04.13
by Linda McGrory
DAD Michael Kerrigan doesn't mind being part of the
'blue rinse brigade' – just don’t ask him to go to
the bingo.
The Inishowen man has had his hair dyed blue to
raise awareness about autism which affects two of
his three young sons.
"World Autism Day was on April 2 and blue is the
colour for autism so I wanted to do something
noticeable to mark it," he said.
"I thought if I have blue hair people will probably
ask me why and then I could explain to them all
about autism. Loads of people are asking so it’s
worked out great," added the full-time carer.
Michael and his wife Fiona, who are in their 40s and
from Iskaheen, Muff, are parents to Ronan (9) and
Cormac (7) who were diagnosed with autism at a young
age. While Ronan's life is dominated by ritual, he
is communicative and interactive. Cormac, however,
has severe autism. He has no speech, won't eat and
is hyper-sensitive to even the slightest noise. His
dietician has prescribed eight daily nutritional
drinks to nourish him. |
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Blue-ming marvellous: Michael
Kerrigan, who has dyed his hair blue to raise
awareness about autism, pictured with son Cormac's
gorgeous assistance dog, Gael. |
The Kerrigans say their
eldest son Cathair (11) who does not have autism,
has to live like an only child. He cannot enjoy
normal sibling interaction while everything revolves
around his brothers' routines.
"Everything has to be organised with military
precision and plans often go out the window. There’s
a lot of screaming and it's hard on Cathair. He has
to sit with headphones on to listen to music or the
television." Life for the Kerrigans was
"transformed" over two years ago when Cormac
received Gael, a beautiful golden retriever
assistance dog, from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.
"She calms Cormac down and calms the whole house
down," added part-time office worker Fiona.
Michael had his new ‘do’ sponsored by Image 2
hairdressers in Quigley's Point for the entire month
of April. It first had to be bleached before his
‘capri blue’ shade was applied. He will have his
head shaved to remove the colour at the end of the
month.
Meanwhile, Fiona quipped: "I recently suggested we
might go out for an evening and he said 'I'll have
to have my roots done first'. I said ‘welcome to my
world!’”. For previous story on the Kerrigans,
click here . |
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