DS14 is addicted to sugar! Could autism or ADHD be playing a part?

[Ducksfeathers]

DS14 makes his own way to secondary school and has been stopping off at the shops to buy a daily size bag of sweets - I think most days. I have just found 20+ empty packets in his bedroom, stuffed behind his furniture.

Lots of concerns - mainly how do I help him manage this as it seems like he's completely addicted and that's such a bad habit to take into adult life. Secondary to that, I suspect he's stealing the money from my purse or small change around the house and that's not ok either.

I wouldn't necessarily notice if he'd taken some cash from my purse as I rarely use cash. When confronted DS says he found a note on the pavement (I don't believe him).

He is diagnosed autistic though he masks pretty well. To give an overall picture of him, he's doing very well academically, has good friends and the usual interests. He plays music, games, plays a lot of sport. He does stim though controls it when he feels he needs to. Having said that, he has periods where he gets detentions at school for being distracted in lessons or disrupting others by talking. He isn't very empathetic towards his siblings - though he can be, just sometimes a bit mean.

Definitely seeking stimulation from the sugar. I've recognised this before and encouraged him to have a cup of coffee in the mornings which will have a similar effect on his brain.

I broached the subject of a stimulant medication with his Ed Psych last year but she completely shut me down. The thing is, I think he's definitely seeking that stimulant effect to 'switch on' his brain and help him focus. He was assessed for ADHD but not diagnosed. If a different teacher had filled out his questionnaires he probably could have had a diagnosis - I've been through the process myself and can see how easily you could be diagnosed or not depending on a few answers. I was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in my late 40's and take a low dose of medication which helps me enormously.

Has anyone been through a similar situation and found a way to help their DC?
I was going to find a good TED talk or podcast about the effects of sugar on the brains, gut, health and all the negatives. He is keen on sport and getting fitter and stronger, so that might be something that hooks him.

I have no advice but a 14 year old who I think has ADD.

She is totally addicted to sugar to the extent she shoplifted sweets and has stolen money from around the house. I never twigged that this could be why but is makes so much sense so I thank you.

Glad it's given you food for thought @Dogman

The typo in my OP should say 'family size' pack of sweets - most days! It's so much and the come down won't be doing anything for his teenage moods either.

My Ds has adhd and Asd .

yes he craves sugar - binges on food .

I don’t have any answers . But I do think it’s connected to his adhd

I didn't know there was a connection and this gives me something to think about too

A side benefit of the medication I take is that it hugely reduces that craving for sugar and caffeine.

@Ducksfeathers sugar and junk food gives a short term boost of dopamine, which would explain why if he's got ADHD he is looking for it. ADHD means a dopamine deficit. I guess addressing the ADHD would help.

I think a lot of 14yos are like this, mine certainly is. The local corner shops and supermarkets are crammed with secondary age kids at home time (mostly boys). I recently found out my son has frittered away almost £200 of his savings account pretty much on sugar. I've expressed how disappointed I am, but it is his money. He was saving for a bells and whistles PC, so he's letting himself down too.

At home he will also snack constantly, so I have resorted to keeping very sugary things out of the house (or hidden). And having 'healthier' things available (crackers/cheese/fruit/cereal etc). Some of this is obviously related to growth - teenagers actually need a substantial amount of calories. I try and make sure he is eating plenty of home cooked healthy meals to fill him up.

I'm hoping it will abate, but 14 seems to be the peak age of impulsive teenage behaviour!

This is a fact. The dopamine deficit of ADHD definitely creates cravings for sugar and caffeine.
People with ADHD and Autism also often suffer with digestive issues due to imbalances in their gut bacteria and, in this respect, eating lots of sugar is self-reinforcing.
If you eat a lot of sugar you develop gut microflora that want to be fed with more sugar so you will genuinely crave this and people with ADHD are much less likely to be able to resist that craving, even if they are aware of it and trying.
If it doesn’t work for your son to cut down on his sugar intake, could he be persuaded to feed the other gut bacteria with lots of vegetables and fruit and perhaps some pre and probiotic supplements? It’s often easier to think about what can be added to a diet to make it healthier than it is to think about deprivation, especially for those of us with ADHD.
Both my daughters (18&23) have been taking medication for their ADHD for about a year now and have both found it moderately helpful in this regard.

If he is not overweight, I really wouldn't worry about it. 14yr olds need a lot of calories and have plenty to worry about. So if he likes an extra mars bar on the way home, let him have it.

I'd be furious about any stealing but he should probably have or earn some pocket money to buy stuff anyway.

And I'd also provide lots of substantial food at home - eggs and nuts and pasta etc.

I should also say that both my daughters also have autism and masking some aspects of this (like talking out loud to themselves or humming) is tiring and difficult and actually chewing sort of meets the subconscious need to make sounds. Chewing gum can help with this and, if your son has a diagnosis, it is a reasonable adjustment that he be allowed to chew in class. It might genuinely help him concentrate.
Also, vaping is addictive generally but in the hands of a young person on the autistic spectrum who is using food to mask and to get a dopamine lift, addiction is almost instant and very hard to deal with. It puts sugar addiction into perspective a bit.

Yes. Both of my ND children are addicted to sugar and I'm autistic and ADHD and I am too. It's horrible and an overlooked effect of ND which obviously affects health. I don't know what to do about it. It's like being on a drug.

Apparently low dopamine levels are largely to blame. I used to be addicted to nicotine which did help my ADHD, but I've moved on to sugar now. The cravings are as strong as the nicotine cravings that I used to get.

My dc are young adults now, but will eat sugar like they're still young children. It worries me a lot.

I did this as a child and am also autistic.

I never knew the two things were linked.

Can you try to substitute his sugar addiction foods with more healthy alternatives such as mixed nuts and raisins or pieces of fruit?

I take medication for adhd and it has reduced my craving for sugar and alcohol.
I still eat a choc bisc twice a day but that’s it and can do without alcohol.

Oh! balls! That explains a lot about me. I can't believe I reached this age (43) and still hadn't figured this out.

I'm off to google healthy ways of improving dopamine levels. I hope the answer isn't to exercise! lol.

oh. Great. the first result on google was to exercise!

This is interesting, I didn't know it could be linked to ADHD. I suspect I have it (ADD) although never sought diagnosis.

I was the same as a child. Started very young. I would take my parents hot chocolate and mix it with milk (it was the only sugar in the house) before they woke up. My mum restricted my sweets, so I started stealing from about the age of 7, maybe? Tiny amounts (as well as using pocket money). It increased as a teenager until I started getting my own money in 6th form/ own job. (I still feel really bad about it, btw).

I still have a sugar addiction and eat sweets pretty much every day, although not always large amounts. It might improve for a bit but always regresses. It really does feel like I need them a lot of the time and just need to be doing something with my hands all the time.

Your description of your DS is so close to mine I’m worried that friends might read it and think it is him! Just goes to show that we’re not the only one going through this.

No solutions as we’re at the same stage - asking psychologist if an adhd assessment is indicated - but reading answers with interest.

Oh wow, this thread is a revelation! My 13 yo DS has ASD, ADHD and is a sugar addict. Doesn’t like chocolate or biscuits, but is obsessed with sweets. He has taken money from his dad’s change jar without asking to buy sweets after school, and yesterday we found out he’d stolen and eaten his sister’s advent calendar sweets which she’d been saving (he won’t admit to it, but it can only have been him…)

He’s very self-aware about it; we’ve had conversations about tooth decay and diabetes and he asks me to help him stop, but then hoards sweets whenever he gets the chance.

He isn’t medicated as his behaviour and concentration are pretty good and he’s already underweight as a result of ASD-related food anxiety (not including sweets, obviously 🙄) so I worry about his appetite being suppressed. I wonder if I can persuade him towards coffee? Although doesn’t caffeine stunt growth? He’s not started puberty yet.

Anyway, will be following this thread with interest.

My son used to take loads of the sugar packets meant for hot drinks from the school canteen and I also often find them in my daughter's room too.

As others have said, dopamine seeking. I was / am the same. I also used to steal small change, again that was dopamine seeking I’ve learned (risky behaviour linked to adhd I was a fucking nightmare tbh, I don’t know how my parents thought it was normal 😂). It’s incredibly hard, but I’d certainly look for support now as I have an awful relationship with food as an adult.

What does he have for breakfast? A protein heavy breakfast might be a help here. Even in terms of how his body processes sugar; it’s easier on the system if sugar is consumed with fat and protein.

I study and concentrate better when I chewing or crunching - these days I give my dc a platter of fruit and veg or a bowl of popcorn when we do homework.

I don’t think you’ll have much luck tackling this problem directly - it’s more likely to go underground or escalate to shop lifting so I’d turn a blind eye and just focus on other things you can control like meals and snacks.

Or if it’s possible, could you interrupt the pattern? If he got dropped up to school in the morning, instead of walking past the shop, he might get a better dopamine hit playing football at school before class?

I’m suggesting these things in the spirit of brainstorming. I know full well that there can be reasons why none of this would work but it might spark a more suitable idea.

So many of us in the same boat! I like the suggestion of adding probiotics and looking at the reverse - adding more of the god stuff. DS unfortunately won't eat fruit (annoying as it's packed with sugar just more healthy than sweets!) but will eat vegetables.

I always let him make an extra round of toast or beans on toast, noodles etc after dinner if he's still hungry. Aware he's growing at such a speed and needs the calories.

Maybe I need to be less prescriptive about the sugar and basically give him a Mars bar every day. I'd prefer he eats chocolate than things like Moams (literally stick to their teeth!) and Haribos with red food colourings - I think it's the red that's the nastier one?

He is making a huge toasted club sandwich for breakfast every morning at the moment! I've stopped buying hot chocolate because he was practically living on the stuff.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say it's not necessarily related I remember being his age and every stray 50p or pound was spent on as many sweets as we could get with so little money.
There was also a stage of spending any 50p on a massive french stick which I ate by itself 😂 . Sweets taste good the companies do tests to make them taste as nice as possible most people find them delicious.

Although saying that there was an autistic boy in my school who would eat those little sugar pouches from Costa by themselves

Try upping his protein. So rather than extra toast or noodles something high protein like protein bars, protein milk shakes or those chicken snack things.