ASD kids grabbing coffee

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I pretty much rely on coffee to prevent migraines, so inevitably the kids see me drinking it, and become interested. Though I try, I haven't always been able to keep a perfect watch over an unfinished cup (4 kids - hygiene emergencies - nuff said ) so all except for the youngest have tried it. Of course it's supposed to be bad for them, so I've tried making the coffee unattractive to them by adding no milk and only just enough sugar that I can get the stuff down. We're talking strong, bitter, unfiltered, "Turkish" style, with half a ton of grounds in the bottom of the cup. This worked for the 2 older kids but number 3 (diagnosed ASD) is undeterred - one time I turned my back he gulped down the whole nearly-full cup including all the grounds, pulled a funny face afterwards but I can tell he's not put off and just waiting for his next chance.

Now, this boy is more willing to taste and try new things than my other kids, but still, I really doubt he actually enjoyed the taste or texture. Keeping in mind the sometimes paradoxical effects of stimulants on ASD, could this be a case of him self-medicating? (I can't ask him because he's pretty much nonverbal and only 4 years old). BTW his older brother has done the same, but now that I've cut down the sugar he's no longer interested. Incidentally, neither of the boys was more hyperactive than usual afterwards - if anything it had the opposite effect.

The health warning on coffee refers to excessive caffeine. Small amounts of coffee even have benefit. Caffeine is also in chocolate and tea both which are very healthy in limit quantities, and colas, no health benefits.

I used to wake up at 4 am to study. Usually in a big rocker. My boys liked to wake up and quietly drink coffee and rock with me. Their's had 3/4 milk, but they were happy. It was a wonderful bonding time. So do yourself and head a favor and do not worry about an occasional sip.

I pretty much rely on coffee to prevent migraines, so inevitably the kids see me drinking it, and become interested. Though I try, I haven't always been able to keep a perfect watch over an unfinished cup (4 kids - hygiene emergencies - nuff said ) so all except for the youngest have tried it. Of course it's supposed to be bad for them, so I've tried making the coffee unattractive to them by adding no milk and only just enough sugar that I can get the stuff down. We're talking strong, bitter, unfiltered, "Turkish" style, with half a ton of grounds in the bottom of the cup. This worked for the 2 older kids but number 3 (diagnosed ASD) is undeterred - one time I turned my back he gulped down the whole nearly-full cup including all the grounds, pulled a funny face afterwards but I can tell he's not put off and just waiting for his next chance.

Now, this boy is more willing to taste and try new things than my other kids, but still, I really doubt he actually enjoyed the taste or texture. Keeping in mind the sometimes paradoxical effects of stimulants on ASD, could this be a case of him self-medicating? (I can't ask him because he's pretty much nonverbal and only 4 years old). BTW his older brother has done the same, but now that I've cut down the sugar he's no longer interested. Incidentally, neither of the boys was more hyperactive than usual afterwards - if anything it had the opposite effect.

We actually started giving DS coffee in the mornings after his diagnosis, as the suggested medications we were initially offered were all stimulants, and I wanted to try something I understood first (I self-medicated with caffeine for years and am now on one of the stimulant meds.)

I honestly didn't notice any difference one way or the other (we had a long talk with DS about what it might feel like, both negative and positive, so he could report how it was going.)

Here's some info on caffeine and kids: http://www.livescience.com/36164-caffeine-bad-kids.html

For some reason, my mother used to make a very milky, weak coffee for me and put it in my bottle, and let me sip that. I vividly remember lolling around in my favorite spot on the living room floor, slowly sucking on that bottle of milky coffee, and feeling fine. I didn't even get hyperactive on the caffeine; I'm sure my mum would have nixed the practice if I had. I have always had anxiety and I'm sure the coffee wasn't great for that, yet even in later years when I didn't drink coffee at all, I had anxiety anyway.

This next part is a bit more unsettling -- she also used to add a tiny dash of whisky to this milky coffee. I suspect that part of things was a calming attempt if I had been fussing before and she wanted me zoned out so she could get on with chores. The caffeine would seem counter intuitive to that, but I think I get what the whisky was about.

Strangely, I didn't grow up with an interest in alcohol other than the usual phase of curiosity as a young adult, but I never cared for the taste neat and hardly care to drink at all as an adult. For coffee, I like one cup in the morning but no more.

Coffee isn't the best for kids, but it has fewer risks than many stimulant meds, so if it seems to help your kid, go ahead and let him drink it. But teach him to drink from his own cup if you can!