When Kids With Autism Grow Up

Alcohol and autism.

“Mom. I messaged the doctor about alcohol. He said I could try one drink. on my birthday.”

Sure enough, I checked my text messages and there was a screenshot of the conversation my son Jack had with his doctor, asking if he could celebrate his 21st birthday with a drink. The doctor agreed that, given Jack’s medication, one or two drinks would be okay - but he didn’t recommend more than that.

I had so many thoughts about this, one being that there is no way Jack could handle the effects of alcohol. Yet at the same time, I feel weary of managing every aspect of his young adult life in ways I never do with my other kids.

For this topic, I reached out to Parent Coach Shannon Earle. I met Coach Shannon through Jack’s college program, and she has been immensely helpful in the last three years.

We spent over an hour on the phone discussing alcohol and the neurodiverse brain, and here were the key takeaways: