Volkans Barber Shop

She did it again💈✂️💈

My little buddy NIKO💈✂️💈

Volkan Bulmus, a Coconut Creek-based barber who goes to specific lengths to make his barbershop family friendly, spends time talking to the children whose hair he cuts. Not only because he wants to find out what they want to look like when they step back out of his storefront, but because he wants them to be comfortable while he moves scissors and clippers around their heads.

This care brought Ellen Blackburn and her 13-year-old son Aaron, who is autistic, to Bulmus' barbershop when he got too old to go to the children's salon he'd been going to for years. One of the hallmarks of sensory issues in autistic children is difficulty in dealing with being touched – which can make for a precarious situation when it comes to getting a haircut, said Blackburn.

Bulmus' demeanor – he said the secret is just to talk to them – and her Aaron's calmness as he carefully trims his hair, gave Blackburn the idea to stage an event in the shopping center Volkan's Barber Shop calls home. This is not only to call attention to the business, but to raise autism awareness overall.

Blackburn will have the first Barber-A-Thon for Autism Awareness on April 25 at the shopping center located on Wiles Road just east of State Road 441, doing her part for Autism Awareness Month. She has planned an event that includes bounce houses, a monster truck, food and games, all centered around the barbershop, in an effort to let more people know about autism and how parents can help their children live with it.

"It's tough to find people that are willing to work with autistic children," said Rick Blackburn. "It's guys like [Bulmus] that are the real heroes."

The Blackburns said they noticed something change when Aaron was a baby, not long after he received several of the vaccines that all children receive between the ages of 12 and 24 months. As he got older, and they needed more guidance on how to work with their son beyond just the behaviorist Aaron works with, Ellen reached out for information and eventually started her own foundation – The Puzzle Place – to offer information and assistance to other parents.

Autistic children, she said, are not stuck in suspended development. She points to her son as an example that, with therapy and a lot of attention, autism can be overcome in time and children become more high-functioning.

According to Blackburn, the explosion in cases of autism over the last 20 years has left school systems and parents at a relative loss for how to work with these children, so she helps parents to find out what help their children are entitled to and how to get it. In addition to pointing parents in the right direction with schools, Blackburn fields calls from parents all over the country helping them to find other services and assistance to get their children what they need.

"If I had a job, I would have lost it," Blackburn said. "I do everything I can to promote awareness, and we've got a lot of people supporting us."

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Haircutting event to educate on autism Volkan Bulmus, a Coconut Creek-based barber who goes to specific lengths to make his barbershop family friendly, spends time talking to the children whose hair he cuts. Not only because he wants to find out what they want to look like when they step back out of his storefront, but because he wants t...

Busy🙏 grateful🙏 thankful🙏💈✂️💈

Master TREVOR at work💈✂️💈

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 💈🦃💈

We will be close at 4th of JULY
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HAPPY 4th of JULY🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷

Well said champ💈🥊💈