Hello all,
I am new to this forum and was looking for some advice for my adult brother.
Over the last year I have suspected that he may have some form of Autism after a series of events and noticing patterns of behavior. He is now in his mid-20s, and went to university for 2 years before dropping out before his final year. He didn't tell any of the family and we only found out much later. He may have been struggling with the social aspect and also parts of his course, where he may not have felt confident in seeking help from his tutors.
He is very reserved and rarely gets involved in family discussions, preferring to spend the majority of his day playing video games and reading articles. He has struggled socially for a long time, and doesn't have any close friends and its been over 5 years since he went out to meet anyone to go out. Our family wasn't educated on Autism / Asperger's and its symptoms and it was only after lockdown and noticing his behavior more intently that I did some research to understand if there was another reason behind his behavior.
Since then my parents tried bringing up the topic of Autism / Asperger's to encourage him to seek a diagnosis but to no avail. We are worried as at times he looks very down, and has issues with self confidence and self-esteem.
I was hoping to get some advice from other adults who sought out a diagnosis (or did not) on any tips to encourage others to do so. Although we know a diagnosis won't solve everything, we think it may help him to understand why he might find things more difficult than others, and also give him access to more support and charity led groups etc. We are also trying to see if we can find other similar aged adults who may be struggling with friends / social skills to see if we can encourage him to meet others more naturally.
Would be grateful for any thoughts, and suggestions of the best approach.
Many thanks in advance,
A hopeful older sister
