Energy drinks

I think the only thing would be to ask him why hebys is doing it.

If it is to be cool, or because other people do it, or because he thinks it will make him cleverer, or it helps his brain calm down, etc. you comments won't have an effect.

If he can realise why he is doing it, then see it may not be great, he will change himself.

But if it is helping his brain to focus, be calm, or help in some other way, you'll be stuck but at least will know why.

I agree with this- if this is part of his routine and you try to forbid it, he is likely to come up with away around it and it will just antagonise him. I used to have this thing about the elliptical trainer in my mum's house and she felt that I was getting too obsessive about it and at some point hid the charger for it and locked the door. I ended up managing to pick the lock and also found an alternative charger- and it just made me feel really bad and stressed and made my mum more mad. It does sound completely insane thinking back but I really needed that at the time to feel grounded and I wasn't ready to be more flexible and my mum trying to force me made me want to hold on even more... With the energy drinks I can think of multiple ways around it even if you stop his pocket money.... 

Dani1984 said:

how do I stop this?

I don't think you can stop it. In my opinion it is best to encourage him to stop it instead otherwise he will react against the controls you are trying to force onto his freedom of choice.

He is getting a mind altering experience from the sugar and caffeine in the drinks and it will be making him feel good. If you come across as wanting to stop this he will see that you are trying to stop him enjoying himself as an adult.

So, my approach would be to find an alternative thing to make him spend his money on. Make him choose between feeling high and following another hobby instead.

These things are probably going to cost more initially than keeping his pocket money as it is, but maybe you can get him to take an interest in something else he likes more and offer to split the cost so his pocket money goes to something he wants more.

A possible plan B could be to say that rising costs mean you are cutting the household budget and his allowance is halving - not enough to buy nearly as many drinks. You will need to show other changes in luxuries as well to make this plausable.

Lastly you could try to get him to get a part time job and he can spend his money as he wants - he will probably get sick of the energy drinks soon enough, especially after he realises it is his own money he is spending.

You may find there are issues in the next years with discovering alcohol and other "highs" since he seems to like the very accessible stimulants he is on now. I would keep a close eye on this and read up on teenage addiction so you know what to look for and how to react. Hopefully it won't come to this but it doesn't harm to be aware.

Good luck.

I guess he's only 16 and if he enjoys them why not just limit it to 1 a day instead. Energy drinks aren't that bad to be honest if your taking them in moderation they won't do much harm they even have sugar free versions too

Hi, I'm not sure I can offer advice but I think it's important to be aware of how important routine can be to autistic individuals. I tend to get obsessed with certain foods/ drinks and even if I know they are bad for me and they create havoc with my digestive system, it can be really hard to stop... For me going cold turkey tends to work best (as otherwise I'll just slip right into having more) but it's not easy to take that step- these things fullfill a function and it can be really hard to stop. 7 energy drinks is a lot though- it be a good idea to get some medical advice on whether it is even safe to stop it abruptly... I would be hesitant to stop the pocket money as a solution. it's likely to antagonise him and he might find alternative ways of getting the drinks - I think it might be a good idea to try to talk to him again but explain that this kind of thing is very common for autistic individuals, say that you know it's hard to stop and maybe you can try to find some evidence that it is not a good idea ( i always find that helps me). If he is receptive you can think of strategies. He probably will need to find something to replace it with. It will be really hard to just stop. I'm autistic as well- I had phases where I drank insane amounts of coffee or decaf coffee , then lately it was the miso soup obsession or chewing gum etc. It all became really obsessive and it was a way of self-soothing and I have a lot of digestive issues (which were being made worse by it ) but there was something quite sensorily soothing about it in the moment. It always took me a while to stop and it was never easy but it's possible. I think it always helps to understand where this behaviour is coming from. Things usually fulfill some sort of function, even if they are actually harmful...