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?
The distinguish characteristic of a gambling addiction is that someone can become totally immersed in some activities, and then running them complusively, disregarding the possible negative repercussions. People who suffer from this type of addiction frequently experience a strange sensation as they are losing their control believing they are unable to resist or stop playing. The best option to stop a gambling addition, in my opinion is to find a new addiction, one that is much stronger than the first one. I had an addiction of playing poker, and i overbeared it, by starting to gamble on [Removed by Mod] , and being honest it worked well.
Everything you could have done, you've already done. Your son is a big enough boy to decide what he wants to do. But he is not independent enough to pay his debts. Why don't you stop [removed by mod] him? He will learn to take responsibility for his debts and his actions. After all, Asperger's is a form of autism and has nothing to do with gambling addiction. A friend of mine was also addicted to gambling at [removed by mod] but he was able to consume information in doses and didn't spend more than he earned. I trusted him and never lectured him. So your son, at 24, has the right to decide what to do with his debts.
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