MELINDA RIZZO
The simplest things in life give Issy Haire joy, and like many pre-teen girls the 12-year-old loves pretty things that smell good.
Calming lavender in scented bath salts or lotions is her favorite and she’s developed a line of bath products she sells through Facebook, Instagram and Taboo Spa & Salon, a Quakertown business owned and operated by her mother, Crystal Haire.
Tall for her age and a sixth-grader at Indian Valley Middle School, Isabella, who goes by Issy, lives in Lower Salford Township in Montgomery County and looks like a typical preteen.
Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 6-years-old, Issy’s desire to help others feel better is what drives this young entrepreneur. She discovered her passion while watching an episode of “The View,” a popular daytime television talk show.
During the show in which Rosie O’Donnell made melt and pour soaps, Issy looked at her mom, Crystal, and said, “ want to do that.”
Melt and pour soaps take a ready-made base, which allows the soap maker to customize blends with fragrance, with butters like shea or with skin-enhancing oils like olive and argan, according to the candlescience.com website.
Issy is shy, and she has trouble interacting with new people. She also has difficulty with reading skills, but these obstacles didn’t stop her from creating her own Issy B’s specialty line of bath and skin-care products aimed to soothe and comfort those who enjoy or need a bit of pampering.
Since she started more than six years ago, Issy B’s bath and skin care products has grown from the melt and pour soaps to include body scrubs, room sprays, lip balm sticks, hand soaps and customized scented skin lotions made from neutral stock bases.
“In addition to her Facebook and Instagram pages we do events together, which helps with the [people] interaction and her social skills,” Crystal Haire explained.
April is Autism Awareness Month and Haire hopes her daughter can shed some light onto a condition that often prevents youngsters and adults from making connections and leading satisfying lives.
“I think the biggest challenge is when people look at her and they see a normal, beautiful girl. She doesn’t have an obvious disability, so at first there is this suspicion,” Haire said.
Autism spectrum disorder is a complex diagnosis and outcomes are best when it is discovered early.
Primary care pediatricians and family practice doctors are the first medical staff with whom most youngsters interact.
Diagnostics, testing and specialist referrals are critical early to discover individual best treatment practices. Early diagnosis and treatment plans have proven to be successful in helping those with ASD grow and thrive.
Because ASD has a wide range of symptoms and symptom severity, it can be hard to diagnose.
In its mildest form ASD can pose difficulties in learning or forming satisfying relationships.
At its most severe it can render a youngster or adult unable to live or function independently.
For information, visit the Autism Society website at
autism-society.org.
