Page 1 of 1 [ 6 posts ] 

Silas
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 30 Sep 2010
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Posts: 73

02 Jun 2022, 5:55 pm

My 19 year old Aspie son has started pulling his hair out. Apparently, he does this at night, and it creates bald spots on his head that are very noticeable.

has anyone dealt with anything like this? He says he can't help it, and isn't even aware of doing it



Pteranomom
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

Joined: 21 Apr 2022
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 345

03 Jun 2022, 12:28 am

Oof. If he truly isn't aware of it, that's tricky. But maybe now that you've mentioned it, he'll notice. When my son was using too many wipes, I made a rule that after 2, the rest had to go in a little trashcan I put next to the toilet. He stopped over-using the wipes nearly right away. He has basically never used the trashcan; I think just remembering the rule was enough to help him stop at an appropriate point.

So I don't know if this would help, but perhaps if he had directions about what to do with the hair after pulling it out, that could help break the rhythm of the activity and draw his attention to what he's doing.



timf
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,040

03 Jun 2022, 6:09 am

It might help to wear a cap or even something like a ski mask at night so that to get to his hair, he would have to be awake enough to take it off. You might also consider a crew cut so that their hair was not long enough to get a hold of.



Minuteman
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

Joined: 23 Jan 2020
Age: 58
Gender: Male
Posts: 233

05 Jun 2022, 8:12 pm

My daughter started doing that at age 10. That was the first indication we had that she was on the spectrum.



DanielW
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jan 2019
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,833
Location: PNW USA

05 Jun 2022, 8:56 pm

trichotillomania can be entirely separate from ASD and occurs most often in teens and young adults. It can also be treated in exactly the same ways as it would be in neurotypical people. It would be wise to get a referral from your child's primary care provider and starting some form of actual treatment before head-shaving or just putting a hat on. Don't you think?



MagicMeerkat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2011
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,821
Location: Mel's Hole

12 Jun 2022, 11:10 am

My head used to get REALLY itchy. The sensation of pulling my hair out helped with the itching. I eventually got fed up and just shaved all my hair and never had a problem with itching again.


_________________
Spell meerkat with a C, and I will bite you.