Published on 12, July, 2020
My 24 year old son has Aspergers, although not diagnosed as there is no funding in Ayrshire for adults to be diagnosed, we have done all the online tests and he scores high on them all.
We have now found out he has a gambling addiction and is thousands of pounds in debt. I am worried sick and don't know how to deal with it. We have made him go to gamblers annonymous and also took bank cards off him, informed gambling sites/payday loans of his addiction. What else can we do?
My dad is about 60 years old, and got into gambling in his 20's-- It's been a HUGE issue my whole life, and has put our family in financial trouble many times. He lost his 30-year job as a pastor about 10 years ago, and has been really depressed ever since.
Anyhow, my brother teaches at a VERY conservative boarding school and my parents just moved on campus to see the grand kids more. There is a casino within driving distance that we took him to and had him sign the lifetime agreement that he isn't allowed to gamble there and will get arrested if caught.... but he isn't stopping and it is putting my brother in a rough spot, cause if my dad was to get arrested, and if people at the school found out (since my dad lives on campus) my brother could lose his job.
Gamblers anonymous didn't help at all (he went for 4 years)-- he is a compulsive liar about the gambling, so it is tough to have any sort of accountability-- cause when you talk to him about it, he might apologize, cry, or tell you something that makes you think he is sincere about stopping this time-- but he doesn't.
He was diagnosed with Aspergers in his 40's when the brother I mentioned earlier was first diagnosed.
I guess my question is, what can we as a family do to get him some real help?