My son will be 21 this March. He graduated from public school, and although the school diagnostician said he was autistic in middle school, we could not get him tested by a proper psychologist until just a month or so before he graduated. He now takes Paxil for OCD symptoms. He is scary intelligent but very socially awkward and is afraid to learn to drive or get a job. We want him to be as independent as possible. He knows how to cook his own breakfast and make some types of meals, mostly sandwiches. One of his problems is that he has no impulse control. We have told him that two eggs, two slices of toast, and two strips of bacon are plenty, but he still insists on using 4 or 5 eggs, 4 pieces of toast, and about 6 or 7 strips of bacon. When he makes a sandwich, he puts way too much meat on it. He is seriously overweight as it is, and he doesn't like to exercise because he is convinced it is painful and he has a low tolerance for heat. His body doesn't seem to be telling him that he's had enough to eat. I could probably solve this problem by doing all the cooking for him, but he would lose his independence. We have tried getting him therapy, but it doesn't work for him. He is very polite and cooperative when he attends the counseling sessions, but once he is home, he refuses to use any of the advice or take any of the action recommended by the counselor. We have tried to talk to him about these things and get him to understand why it is problematic, but he takes it as negative criticism and goes into "defense mode." I feel like we are just about out of options. I don't think his case is serious enough to consider institutionalizing him, but he will not change his behaviors on his own if he can't be made to see the importance in doing so.

Posted by alanschriver at 2024-01-07 03:43:05 UTC