Child’s odd behavior - "picks at things" | ADHD Information
My son use to pick at things in 3rd grade it was his fingers in middle school and the discovery of hair jel it was his head or the dry flakes of hair jel. the only thing that is bad is when a teacher spends time to bring it up to every one in the class. he no longer has this habit but he is a senior in high school.
I didn't know other kids with ADHD sucked on clothing. My boy used to chew and suck on his winter coat while he played outside, or whenever he had it on. He also picks his cuticles occasionally. I wonder if some of these weird things they pick up is a coping mechanism of some sort. Meaning, your child may be picking the desk, because it helps him/her focus better when the teacher talks. I also think its part of the med. thing. Maybe suggest a more appropriate behavior that the teacher allows like doodling on paper. I don't know if I'm ADD or not but during meetings I have to doodle to keep my mind on whats being said, and its also a good way from saying things you don't want to say. I've suggested different techniques like this for my son to use.
I'm sorry psm0904 you are wrong, picking at things is NOT just an autistic trait. I constantly pick at scabs (embarassed to admit) and I'm not autistic, and my son (ADD inattentive) picks as well, and he's NOT autistic. My sister used to pick her nose all the time and she's not autistic either. Please quit telling every mom on here with a kid with ADD/ADHD to get them tested for autism. You may mean well, but it's getting rather annoying, I don't know if anyone feels the same, but it had to be said.
ojsmum38477.5455671296My 6 yerar-old step-daughter has picked at her scabs to the point of some serious straph infections. My older brother had developmental issues, and he has always picked or twirled things. The dogs hair, his own hair, his blue blanket, the couch were all his favorites. He also sucked his thumb until he was 18. My step-daughter is still battling the thumb sucking issue--mainly when she is stressed out.My son likes to pick the fuzz off of stuffed animals. He has been doing it ever since he was 3.Hi I'm 35 with add, my son is 11 with adhd, and yes we both pick at things, i especially pick at hangnails, and scabs it's a hard habit to break, i also pick the dried glue off the tables at work. my son picks at lint, and anything fuzzy, of knots in the cats furs. Neither of us are autistic, we just can't help doing it.[QUOTE=redhead]my daughter bites her arm when she's overstimulated, it's weird but the dr. thought it was because she was overwhelmed with things. who knows.... but i noticed that she bites her pencils a lot too, so i'm not sure if it's a nervous habit. [/QUOTE]
My son does the same thing.
Picking at things is not an ADHD or bipolar trait. (I have bipolar, my son high functioning autism) It is an autistic trait. Any kid who does it too much should go to an autism expert, especially if they have delays in some areas and are sensory sensitive. It's kind of the OCD stuff that high functioning autistic kids do. Pediatricians would miss high functnioning autism as would child psychiatrists and therapists. It is a Neuro Psych who would be most familiar with it. Most kids (and I have five) do NOT pick their sores. My only child who ever did this was my autistic kid and he's 11 and still does it. These kids can't stand the itching when a sore is healing and can't bear to see any skin sticking out without pulling on it. My son will rip a scab right off his face. Sucking a shirt is also a sensory issue. SID is closely related to autism. Contrary to what most people think, high functioning autistic kids can be very verbal and bright, but most suffer socially and rage a lot due to frustration being forced to be a typical child when they have a neurological problem. Our NeuroPsych tested our son for twelve hours before diagnosing him. It takes a while to diagnose. Anyone who got a diagnosis after just the Connor's Report (which we also did) and a five minute visit with a doctor did not have a check for high functioning autism. Good luck, all :) psm090438469.58615740748 yr old, been taking meds X1 yr, sleeping well, has good teacher at school. My daughter has the oddest behavior, she picks at things. They have a story carpet at school. The kids all sit together on it. She was absorbed with picking lint & little pieces of paper off it. We resolved it by donating a sweeper to her class so that the temptation could be removed.
She has been picking at the finish on her desk (her second). She ruined the first one by picking at it. We've covered the now rough edges with smooth tape and started a star chart to reward her if she doens't pick at it. If the tiniest thing sticks out (like a hangnail) she picks at it. It's just seems odd that she can have difficulty staying on task but can get so absorbed in picking! Anyone else experience this?
My son has the same problems. He picks and picks. Usually at his freckles. Really. He'll do it for a long while. I think there are several different reasons. Could be just symptom of her adhd, tics from the meds., ocd,. If it is really bothersome talk to her doctor.
I do know this is not uncommon for adhd kids. I've recently bought my son something like silly putty and he messes w/ it all the time. It keeps his hands busy and helps w/ the picking. Hope this helped a little
Yes, my son who is 6 1/2 is still attached to his receiving blankets which he sleeps with. We'll see him examine it very closely and hyperfocus on any pieces of cotton or fabric and pick so much that he creates holes.
He doesn't do it with everything though. My first thought is that although your daughter is on meds, she may need a "fidget." My son had a hard time keeping quiet hands in preschool and part of kindergarten and when he needed it, they'd have a small stress ball for him to hold in one of his hands. It really helped.
Have you mentioned it to your doc? Is she taking a stimulant? It might also be some type of nervous reaction due to the med. Is it only when she's medicated or all of the time?
I'll keep my eyes and ears open and pass on any help I come across.
my daughter bites her arm when she's overstimulated, it's weird but the dr. thought it was because she was overwhelmed with things. who knows.... but i noticed that she bites her pencils a lot too, so i'm not sure if it's a nervous habit. Kids who get into their own world and start picking at things or sucking their shirts, as mine did, may well have high functioning autism. These kids are "odd ducks" and can both be in their own worlds one moment and seem to snap to alertness the next. Some are late talkers; some talk on time. You'd need an autism specialist for diagnosis because child psychiatrists, pediatricians and therapists basically don't know how to look for this. I would check the child out for Aspergers or PDD-NOS. Obsessions are part of autism as is hyperactive behaviors. My son both picked at stuff and sucked his shirt (he still does and is 11, but now understands not to do it in public). It doesn't sound like ADHD. Good luck. psm090438468.2415162037Our son withdraws when overstimulated.Hmmm...our son is on NO medication because he hasn't been diagnosed medically yet. However; he used to 'pick'.. at his 'binky' in his bed that it would make him SICK ... literally. We had to remove ALL stuffed animals and his bed is now all like t-shirt (jersey sheets). NOTHING fuzzy wuzzy because he would pick and make himself sick. That was about a year ago and he promised that if we let him sleep with his Winnie The Pooh that he would bite it...well; he hasn't. We actually have one blanket where you can see HIS teeth marks. It was a blanket that was really soft and felt really good; but needlesstosay....he's doing much better except he does pick at his fingers (hangnail) or a lil' piece of skin...any kind of boo boo he picks it till it will bleed then want a bandaid...so we just put a band aid on it before he has that option and he slowly has come away from that also. NOW...our son sleeps with his Winnie and also a Patrick (from Spongebob) and hasn't gotten sick from 'picking' anything in a long, long time. I really don't think that this is an adhd/add reflection. I call it PERFECTION; they want everything PERFECT; no flaws, no strings, NOTHING on anything that isn't supposed to be. Maybe a bit of a compulsive disorder; but can be resolved. Think about it...do you shave your legs? WHY? Do you have your eyebrows waxed or plucked? WHY? Things that we do are because we want to have things neater...or make us feel better, look better, etc...kids are just the same. Smile...because your child seems to just want things to be just 'so' and that's that.
My daughter began sucking on her shirts and you would see a big wet spot. This she does on and off.
My son, Logan, picked at his boo boos all the time. It hurt me to watch him do it and we tried to remind him not to pick. I think it made it worse. Some of the boo boos were there for 6+ months at a time. The docs weren't really concerned about it. At his worst, Logan had 5 on his face, 15 on his arms, 4 on his legs and he picked at his lips too. We should have taken stock in band-aids at that time. We had to limit Logan to only 5 band-aids a day. When we started Logan on Clonidine in March, the picks were gone. I don't know if it was the meds or maturity but they are gone. We tried giving him squishy balls and things to play with. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. We are seeing a neurologist in June and I would like to change meds because they make Logan too tired. They work but they are making him crash hard. I also want to know if Logan is true ADHD or BiPolar or if we are just crazy and nothing is wrong. I don't have any advise to give but maybe just to give your daughter something to fiddle with. I have done that with some of my 5th grade students and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Hope my story helps someone.
So does mine. Another autie trait.
Almost all of these posts sound like me....33 yrs old, never diagnosed with adhd, but have 2 sons (13 & 4) who are.
Have always "picked" at things, and no, I'm not autistic! For crying out loud, just because you may show symptoms of a condition, doesn't mean that everyone who has those symptoms has that same condition! Sheesh!
Scabs, peeling skin, hang-nails, finger nails in general (was a chronic nail-biter from the age of 4!), lint on clothes, "sleep" in my kids, and even my cats', eyes, grass on the carpet.....yeah, maybe I'm mildly OCD, but why can't I just be a "Type A" personality instead? I just like things tidy....I, my friends, am a neat freak, and proud of it! No need to "label" me, as I'm not hurting anyone! Just keep your space tidy, and there'll be no ruckus.....I have to-do lists, and God-forbid someone should "scribble" on it, and I'll re-write the whole (bleep) thing! Even my grocery list is organized....food items on the left, non-food items on the right....my mother comes to visit and just writes things all "willy nilly" on there, and I can't stand it....I have to re-write the whole thing. It's just how I am.
pjcofer
(was also an overachiever in school, in case you wanted to know!)
My 8 year old did the same thing before meds. Now that it seems his meds are not working as well, he is doing it again. He was diagnosed with adhd last year and one of his big things was picking at lint on the carpet, playing with his pencil and scraps of paper. It was not an obsessive thing, but he used it as a distraction. You will be trying to talk to him, and he instead of focusing he will be picking at something / anything. When his meds were working well, this trait stopped and he could focus well.My son has this problem. It didn't start until we increased his meds. The doctor says it's nervous ticks. It's something I've learned to deal with. I have to put bandaids over every scab until it heals. If I don't it will never heal. He has a scar right in the middle of his forehead where he picked at it for four months straight. It's something that he can't control, so I do not punish him like my husband suggests. He just CAN'T help it.....Like I've said before, I'm sure many kids here are misdiagnosed with ADHD when something else is going on. It's a parent's choice whether to pursue it or accept the label. Often things come up in later years, and then re-evaluation becomes necessary, as it did us. Picking IS an autistic trait, but other things go along with it, such as other sensory issues, poor or inappropriate socialization, and poor life skills. I'm a believer in leaving no stone unturned because if you miss the real diagnosis, a child's life can be destroyed. At 18 they are on their own. I go to another site where many of the grown kids are now facing jail. So was it ADHD or misdiagnosed ADHD and another problem was really the core issue? I'd rather "rule out" than just be comfortable with one diagnosis. JHMO