[DanaC]

That skinpicking thing is something I still do. Have done since I was around 3. It is an absolute compulsion and probably a large part of the reason my eczema infects so often. I have mulled over seeking help with it for years, but it is coupled with a slight revulsion or expectation of revulsion in others, so never have. Just something I try to not be seen doing.

The worst possible thing to do is treat it like aberrant behaviour and draw attention to it. Difficult, given you also want to try and avert the behaviour. My parents mishandled it, not that I'd ever tell them that :P Their response was to pointedly draw my attention to how it looked when I did it and tell me off in an attempt to stop me doing it. Instead it just sent it into a secret behaviour and probably escalated it considerably.

Bless them they were doing their best.


That's not why I came in here though :

Saw this on the BBC site and thought of you guys. Brilliant idea.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/2012...making_th.html

The foyer of the Cottesloe at the National Theatre is buzzing when I arrive, as groups of disabled and non-disabled people bustle about, organising tickets and purchasing drinks. We are all here to see a dramatized version of Mark Haddon's highly successful 2003 book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
The sell-out play tells the story of 15 year old Christopher Boone who has Asperger's syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder. Those with the condition are typically high functioning, can have social difficulties and are often very sensitive to light and sounds.

The author of the original text did not have Asperger's and neither do any of the actors, but today, many in the audience have autism or a learning disability of some kind. I am at what's known as a "relaxed performance", which is summarised on the National Theatre's own website in a very friendly and inviting manner: "The atmosphere in the auditorium will be relaxed to provide a more supportive environment - a bit like the quiet carriage on the train ... but the opposite! Audience members will be free to come and go as they please throughout the performance and make noise if they want to."

Relaxed performances at other theatres have had a chill out room where people who need quiet time can go before, during or after the show. Some even relay the play on a big screen, so that if someone needs to leave the auditorium they can still follow the story. Today, the Cottesloe foyer has been designated as a quiet space.

To prepare audience members with autism who find surprises uncomfortable, a letter was sent out in the weeks leading up to the performance. It reassuringly explains precisely what we can expect from the day, including at what time we can enter the auditorium, when the show will start, how long it will be and the length of the interval.

all theatre-goers will have received "visual stories" or storyboards, a couple of weeks before this relaxed performance, so that they already know the narrative and feel prepared for each bit as it comes along.