teen son & possible eating disorder....

[PetuniaClark]

Not even sure if this is the right talk topic. Please say if you think this would be better somewhere else.

17y old son. has aspergers. up until lockdown , he was really heavy/ chubby.....buying & eating loads of junk on his way to school.
over lockdown he did lots of exercise, & obv couldn't get out to buy junk. he lost over a stone & looked so much better.

now he is back at college. we know he is spending most of his allowance on junk because we see all the wrappers. BUT the weight is not going back on. he is not doing as much exercise as before.
there have been some very suspicious toilet incidents where we think - but have no proof - that he has been sick or has had explosive diarrhea.
the aspergers means that he will not engage with us about anything. getting him in the car to chat/walks/watching tv together are all a big hi he only comes out of his room for food.

short of searching his room for laxatives etc, what can I do?

There are only 3 ways you are going to find out if he has an eating disorder;

• you talk about it and he tells you
• you have evidence (walking in on a purge/finding laxatives)
• he gets so I'll the drs diagnosed him

I appreciate it may be hard with his Asperger's, but can you not have any conversation? You could just mention his weight loss and check in rather than ask outright?
Have you noticed him going to the toilet immediately after meals?
Eating junk food doesn't necessarily mean bulimia, normally he would have to eat a very large amount of food - is he eating his meals as normal? Or more?
Another way is to get him to a dentist. They can spot signs at times but that's normally a while after behaviour starts, and won't be easy to do in this climate.
It could be as simple as he is managing his weight well and you have nothing to worry about, but worth keeping an eye on.