Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello I'm Shelley. I've just joined. I was wondering if anyone had advice on autistic teenagers? My son is 15 and received his diagnosis two weeks ago but obviously I always knew. I'm having a really difficult time over his weight. He's become obsessed with his body. His foods are carefully selected and weighed. He knows the calories of everything etc. He's so upset at the thought of putting any weight on and has lost quite a bit over the last few months. He does eat and reassures me he knows what he's doing and it's not an eating disorder. He just really needs to feel comfortable in his own skin and to do that he says he needs to be a certain weight. I just don't feel qualified in how to deal with him. Sorry for the long post.
Has he actually put a number on his weight goal? If he just ‘feels’ overweight the danger is he’ll never be satisfied and just keep going. If he has a weight that’s consistent with a health bmi in mind then I’m not sure this is such a big issue. So long as he stops when he reaches his target.
Hello NAS76794,
Thank you for sharing this with the community. I'm sorry to hear that you've had difficulty with your son's eating patterns. You may like to have a look at the following article which explores these eating habits in people with autism:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/avoidant-eating
I hope this helps to understand what your son may be experiencing.
All the best,
ChloeMod
Thank you Martin. His calorie deficit is definitely lower than it should be but he's most comfortable in a special routine with his food etc. He eats extremely healthy foods. I think I'm panicking because he's gone from not being bothered too much about what food he eats and weight training, to the way he is now 3 stone lighter.
It sounds like his food intake has become a 'special interest'. It is worth monitoring what he is eating, but as long as he is eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, he is most probably not going to do himself any harm. It would be useful to ensure that his target weight is well within the healthy range for his height, and that when he reaches this weight he relaxes his dieting regime.