I am sorry for not blogging for a while since I was away last week. But I am back and all is well. However, I admit I also had a bit of writer’s block until a conversation I had with someone recently opened that up. I was talking to someone about teens and drugs!
Most of the time, teenagers that have special needs such as autism will not be interested in drugs- therefore, that is one worry that parents who are raising teenagers with autism will not have to deal with. However, in some cases it can be a concern. Some teens who are under the autism spectrum that are quite high functioning may be quite curious as well. And I wanted to write this up as well because my 13-year old daughter who does not have any real special needs other than some mild ADHD is definitely a typical teenager. She HAS expressed curiosity about drinking and drugs. How can this curiosity be handled?
What I am about to say probably will sound very counter-intuitive, however- the best way to help satisfy your curious teen’s urge to experiment is to let them try booze or drugs around you! Yup, that is right. If your teen wants to try booze- give him or her a sip of vodka! Why vodka? Because it tastes horrible and there is a good chance your teen will be a lot less curious about booze in the future. If your teen wants to try a cigarette, give him or her a cigar to smoke. That will make him or her sick, and again- the curiosity there will likely be satisfied, and the interest will be lost.
Another reason you should let your teen try something that would make you cringe is because he or she will trust you as a parent a lot more. Telling your teen that drugs, cigarettes and booze is bad for them is not going to stop them from being curios. In fact, telling them that may drive their curiosity up even more.
Before your teen goes out, makes a bad group of friends to get drunk and high with- give them an opportunity to satisfy their curiosity, and don’t forget to make the experience a bad one for them. Chances are, they will lose interest!
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