Published on 12, July, 2020
My daughter has recently been diagnosed with ASD, but has been picking at her face and spots for a while now when she gets stressed. For example, her spots were bad at the end of term and improved steadily over the holiday - however since Friday she has had flare ups and this morning has marks all over her face where she has picked them. She doesn't like the feeling of uneven skin, so she picks the spots and then the scabs.
Any suggestions would be very gratefully received. She already uses special creams and face wash for spots, but cannot use the cream prescribed by the doctor as they are often open sores.
Hi Juniper,
Thank you for taking the time to suggest all of these, I will look into them.
Mrs B
Just out of curiosity, do you have an animal and if so, does petting them help? Or, have you tried similar movements like a looming class?
Try these solutions.
1. Set aside time to engage in a HOME facial. It keeps everyone busy and allows her take specific matters into her own hands. Find a recipe for home-made face mask to create together. Have her sit over a bowl of steaming water with a towel and then allow it to dry. Apply fresh cut garlic to flair ups and let this dry. Tone her full face with apple cider vinegar. Perhaps during the whole experience you can listen to a podcast together and help her to think about other things.
2. Book an appointment with a good aesthetician who can give her a proper facial and show her how Proper Techniques for "Extraction". You will need someone who will help give her a lesson as she might not stop immediately, but provided she receives thoughtful information, she will then have a better understanding of what our skin is and how the skin responds and might even flirt with the idea of this as a career.
3. Begin to look into a possibility of an allergen causing these. Many can experience this with wheat. Perhaps other ancient grains are useful instead?
4. Buy clay or a Zen Garden - something with Art to smooth over so she can direct this 'desire' or mechanical technique in to something with a similar feeling and result.
Hello I’m 21 and I do the same thing. I also suffer from pulling my hair out. A suggestion could be maybe getting her something to fidget with rather than taking stress out on picking at her skin. Also maybe get her some nice facial cream or face mask to help de stress her and it might put her off picking at her face. Also spot stickers is a really good suggestion, I’m looking to get some for myself.
ffion :)
Thanks piggy
Has she tried anxiety rings? you can get ones that look like normal rings so isn't obvious
personally i prefer HMILYDYK Fidget Flippy Chain Steel Bike Keyring Fidget Stress Reducer Toy for Kids and Adults ADD ADHD Anxiety (Blue) : Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games, which is quite small so fits in the palm of my hand and no one pays much attention
She has scars on her face from the picking already, she can pick them in her sleep!
That's a great idea, except she does it in school as well and hates anything that brings any attention to her!
I'm a skin picker as well and fidget gadgets helps me when I get the urge to pick
Perhaps this will help your daughter with her picking
Hi Ann, She is aware that she is doing it and over the holidays they can clear up completely - but any kind of stress makes her break out.
She has started colouring in before bed so that her hands are busy, but she misses reading.....but if she reads then she picks!
I have a big scab I have been picking at for years
I do the same, it sounds weird but I find picking at spots/ squeezing them oddly calming and stress reducing... I never realised this could be an ASD-related behaviour. Not sure how to stop doing it though, I never really tried to stop it because it is so calming but for sure on a rational basis it is not really the best thing to do... I go through phases of doing this. If it is really bothering your daughter could she maybe try another way of stimming when she gets the urge to pick at her spots?
Hi Sparkly,
My daughter isn't good at leaving scabs alone, but would never get close enough to someone else to squeeze their spots!
I am in my late forties and can relate to your daughter, as I too dislike the feeling of uneven skin. If there is a spot on my face or elsewhere on my body, I cannot resist the urge and just have to pick at it. Of course, when it scabs over, it takes a considerable amount of willpower to leave it alone and allow it to heal. Sometimes I have resorted to covering spots with small flesh-tone plasters. I am terrible because if my son (an adult) has blackheads, I find myself almost begging him to let me squeeze them. One of my guilty pleasures, I guess.
Not sure how safe that is either piggy?
It's awful as she loves reading, but will still pick and make herself bleed, but if she colours in then she doesn't pick! Reading is her most favourite thing, but she is trying to stop picking....
Hiya,
I do the same. I have found that if my hands are busy then I don't do it as much as I'm unaware of the spots. so have started painting PVA glue on my hands and then peeling it off once it has dried. not sure if that's safe however the only thing that works for me.
Hi Caroline,
Thank you for this, she's used them before and will only use them at night when nobody can see them! She loves that they help, but needs to remove the yuck that comes out of them... picks them again! Vicious circle :-(
I'm 17 and I'm exactly the same as your daughter! I pick at them all the time even when I know I shouldn't just because I hate the feeling of them. The only suggestion I have is buying some spot patches as (as well as treating the spots) they stop you from picking at them and make the spots feel less bumpy on your face. The patches are see-through so they're not too noticeable to use out and about.