Published on 12, July, 2020
We have a 26 year old dual diagnosed with autism and Down syndrome. He graduated from high school and went to a day center where he also worked and then after 7 years decided to quit. He recently moved himself into our basement and now plays his Xbox all day. He will leave the house to do activities he thinks are fun like bowling and going to a movie but that’s about it. He has gained a lot of weight and we bought him a walking treadmill but he rarely uses it. He seems happy though and we don’t know if we should be pushing him more into life. He uses sign, reads, and writes so he communicates pretty well. And he does think I’m his personal servant and I’m struggling to get him to do more for himself too. Any ideas or help appreciated.
Stop doing things for him that he can do for himself, like fetching and carrying, if he wants a drink make him get it himself, simple stuff like that. As you know he can do things like hld down a job etc, make him start doing his own laundry, teach him how to read laundry labels and how to use the washing machine. Start getting him involved with household tasks, like cleaning.