Gaaaah! What to do about picking? | Autism PDD
Donny has a really distressing behaviour which has always been there,
but is
much worse this year. He picks at scabs or insect bites until they bleed,
and
mucks with the blood. It always leads to infections, messes, stained
clothes,
and terrible scars.
We redirect when we catch him picking, and use natural consequences
such
as cleaning with iodine or alcohol when he manages to open things right
up.
We always lecture him on not picking, and the reason for it (bad for your
body). We cover with bandaids as much as possible, although he always
seems to end up pulling them off at some point during the day, and
leaving
it on the floor, so it ends up stuck to the bottom of someone's foot 
Anyhow, just now I called Donny for his 2pm med, and I see he's got
blood all over his mouth. I ask him where the blood is from, and he tells
me "vampire", then shows me his hands, which are also covered in blood.
I ask him to show me where the bleeding is, and he points to his leg,
where he's dug off a mosquito bite, leaving a bleeding little crater.
What a MESS!!! It was so gross, and totally inappropriate. Blood from his
knee to his toes, all the way around the leg. Blood covering his palms, in
between his fingers, and up his wrists, and of course blood on and in his
mouth as I said. I haven't dared to look in his bedroom (where he was)
yet, as I KNOW that the linens are all bloody now and need to be changed,
and the carpet probably needs to be cleaned.
I've given him a very stern talking to, cleaned him up, and bandaged his
leg.
All I'm getting in return is a pissy attitude. I'm copletely certain he WILL
do this again.
How do I stop this? Any ideas?I wish I knew.
One thing to be aware of, it can be way out of the control of the person doing it.
I consider myself to have pretty good willpower in general. And yet I pick. Not just scabs but often anything that looks different on my skin. I've pulled off moles and freckles and skin tags before too until they bleed. And I pick my nose incessantly.
There's no particular reason behind it, it's just this unreasoning compulsion that for the life of me I can't break, and I try really hard. I've been scolded my entire life for these habits, I have tremendous internal drive not to do them, and yet, I do them.
How are his fine motor skills? Stick on a bandaid, some sticky guaze, and then wrap it up. There's a type of sticky/stretchy bandage stuff (looks like an ace bandage) that is hard to pick apart. Maybe Donny won't be able to get at it? If you do this on enough of his wounds maybe he'll stop picking at them?
Good Luck!
Quinn likes to pick things somewhat also...anything from insect bites, cuts scratches bumps....I haven't noticed him doing it as much lately.....he did have a few mosquito bites on his forehead from when we went camping a few weeks ago and he seemed to be obsessed with playing with them until they went away....I wish I had some great advice for you but I don't....It must be common for some people....I have a coworker who is always looking in the mirror when we have free time at work and she can't stop picking at her face.
Once my mother had a small mole removed from her face whcih the doc stiched up and put on a bandage and Quinn was obsessed with it until it healed up.
Picking is an anxiety thing. Like nail biting. Habits are hard to break. My 12y NT is a awful picker!! Every scab, huge scars. She even picks at 2 areas on her head. She has lost hair from this. I remind her alot and then she tells me she isn't even doing it! She doesn't even realize it's happening! She is also a nail biter--like me
My severe anxiety child--11y----does not bite her nails! Or pick! Weird. My ASD son--7y picks his nails. Mason's isn't so much picking, it's pinching...he is always pinching his arms, my arms when he is sitting next to me...constantly!!! I bought him a squishy ball to carry around with him and always redirect him to the ball whenever he is pinching...at first he had no interest in the ball, now he will move to the ball but only after I redirect him...but it is getting better. Maybe something like that might help...not sure though, because it is kind of a different situation. Good luck, hope you find something that helps soon. edited: I should write that it isn't a mean pinch or a hard pinch most of the time...just more of a rubbing the skin between his two fingers. Dorian is a picker and biter. He was so bad in elementary school that he had extra shirts at school. One year I forgot to warn the teacher and she about passed out the first time she saw a bloody shirt. It kind of goes in cycles – biting, picking or pulling hair. But 90% of the time its biting the hand. He has dry skin and claims he bites to scratch. He bites his nails, including his toe nails too. The following article seems pretty good. It is written by Fred Penzel, a Ph.D. who has a clinical practice involving hair pulling (trichotillomania) but also sees skin-picking and nail-biting. Dr. Penzel seems to really understand why people do it (relief from over- and under-stimulation) and how difficult it is for people to quit. (My husband does this, and I doubt he'll ever stop, no matter how many times I tell him to stop and no matter how many times he gets an infection). Dr. Penzel lists medication options, a B vitamin (inositol) which seems tempting, and therapy (first habit reversal training then stimulus control). http://www.homestead.com/westsuffolkpsych/SkinPicking.html Good luck, everyone. This is obviously a common problem. "You may do it no matter what "mood", but it's underlying cause is due to anxiety." To be brutally honest my underlying reason is because there's a lovely irrestible bit of scabby skin that NEEDS to be picked off and examinedgreat ideas. I think I'll try the liquid bandaid and/or vaseline. Don doesn't
I have been known to pick at sunburn, but I'm really careful not to burn as I have red hair and very pale skin. This question has me so curious that I keep researching it. I happened upon a moderated online support group that focuses less on the whys and more on the what to dos. Maybe this will be of interest to some of you. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pickaderms/ This website has 13 practical tips under "Idle Hands," plus probably a couple other kid-friendly ideas in the other categories. http://www.stoppickingonme.com/recovery_c08.php Your posting brought tears to my eyes. My son "picks" too. He doesn't get into the blood, but "enjoys" the feeling and sound of squeezing things. I have gone from pasting whole boxes of "spot" bandaids, (didn't work) to using the clear bandage, liquid. This worked for us. The liquid bandage allows the scab to heal and then there is nothing to pick. My son would leave the liquid bandage alone, but it was very sticky so it may cause your son difficulty in removing it. My son has PDD-nos, ADD, OCD, ODD, speech delay and impared language, and a myriad of learning disabilities including dyslexia. At one time we had 9 "labels' Hunter is 10. Good luck! Oh my goodness, my 4 year old picks too. He has scars on his face where he just picked them until they left scars. I catch him picking at bites on his legs too. He normally picks when he's in a wind down mood like watching his brother play video games or while he is watching tv. I redirect him but he constantly picks. I figured it was some type of compulsion as I tend to do the same thing with my face. I only pick at my face but if my kids have dry skin or something like that, I'm compelled to get it off so I just figured it was a hereditary thing he picked up from me. I can't cover his booboos with bandaids because he's allergic to latex (just like me) but I will try that ace bandage guazy sticky stuff that they use when they have to draw blood. I will see if that works next time. Please keep all the suggestions coming. Karman You may do it no matter what "mood", but it's underlying cause is due to anxiety. Do you not have OCD? Most ASD people have some OCD. Even my HFA son has been dx'd with OCD---even though he has never had any compulsions. M 11y dd with no ASD is dx'd with OCD---never having any obsessions. My 12y dd non asd is my picker. I never thought she had anxiety. Now---after years of picking---guess what is coming out in the open---her anxiety!! If it's not a form of some anxiety---what is it actually? I believe it's an "internal" form of anxiety. OK - I'll preface this by I have NO experience with this, but a thought just popped into my head. When he picks, can you make him wear mittens/gloves as a punishment? Instead of a time out, can you make him wear gloves for 10 minutes - kind of like a time out for his fingers? If he doesn't like the gloves, it may be a motiviator to stop him from doing it. Sorry if this is offensive to anyone or sounds nuts, I'm just brainstorming... Olive oil is good. I pick at my own skin as well. I was just telling someone how to get rid of cradle cap on another list! I'm looking for a sample social story on this to add to my list. In my search, I found this. Sounded like a good idea: "One child ACCC staff worked with enjoyed swimming but picked at her arms, often until they bled. And she couldn’t swim with sores on her arm. The girl’s speech therapist created a social story using simple words and pictures about a girl who quit picking at her arms and got to go swimming and was happy because she got to swim." Source: http://www.annecenter.org/news_events/connections/1206readin gfundamental.html Added later: Sorry, didn't find a social story.
not anxiety-related, and not *really* a sensory thing (in that it's not
sensory seeking behaviour which can be replaced with other input).
gtto - I hadn't considered it might have a compulsive quality. I just
figured it was normal little kid scab picking, taken further because it's
hard to get Donny to understand that it's unhealthy (plus not very socially
appropriate or hygenic!).
Covering it with a bandage or tenser wrap won't work - Don would just
take it off. His fine motor skills are weak when it comes to writing, but
just fine for everthing else.
As I think about it, I don't *think* this is compulsive, at least not in the
OCD sense. Simply because normally if I try to redirect a compulsion
(such as pacing or ticcing for example), Donny clearly, visibly experiences
anxiety, and the compulsive behaviour immediately gets worse.
It might be a sort of sensory compulsion, in that he can't stand to have a
spot on his skin that feels "wrong"? I wonder, how can I fix that for him?
Or are we just forever doomed to lots of scabs, scars, and bloody messes
all summer long?
like sticky, goopy stuff (but he'll muck with his own snot and blood, go
figure 
), so that might be a sufficient deterrent
I mean, every kid, and most adults, pick to some extent - it's just the level
he goes to with it.
And Bullet, I loved your description of your motivation 
As a (mostly)
reformed picker myself, I can totally relate. How about when you're peeling
from a sunburn? I used to drive my parents (and now my husband) crazy
with picking and fussing at it 
OOOH -- peeling sunburn!!!We tried a liquid bandage once due to my son's aversion to bandaids (at the time), and I thought it stung way too much. I don't remember it being sticky either. Is there a particular brand that is better than others?
My son too has PDD/ADHD/OCD and has issues with self-injurious behavior...at 8 he was so anxious that he cut holes on the back of his fingers...this was before taking too much Risperdal..once we increased to 2 mg/day...the problem improved...he still likes to bite his nails, but at least he has some nail bed now!!!Just like julieontheline we've used a liquid band-aid for my son. He had a wound on his nose that took at least 2 mos. to heal b/c he'd keep picking at it. A good time to apply the liquid band-aid is when the child is asleep.
Hi 
Have you tried putting liquid bandaid on it???
It stings a bit because it has an antiseptic too
My ds picks his scalp I used to put a whole bunch of vaseline on it to change the sensation of the area and then he would stop because it felt gooey LOL
it worked for awhile
he still picks but not nearly as bad
Good luck!
nice to hear from ya
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