Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I'm looking for advice for my brother, he's 16, 17 in November. He has been diagnosed with mild autism and social anxiety. He hasn't been to school for most of his life and in recent years barely leaves his room, he doesn't bathe, he has no friends and sits in the dark playing computer games all night and sleeps all day. He has had involvement with cahms, seen psychiatrists and doctors to no avail. He has now got problems with his legs from sitting for hours and never leaving the house to exercise, My mum and I have tried everything to try get him out his room but he just ignores us or gets angry. We both feel heartbroken and I feel the older he gets the worse it's going to be, he seems to be stuck in a online world. we have often thought about cutting the electrics but his computer is his life line and where his only friends are. Has anyone had any experience with something similar? He's also just been turned down pip even after an appeal, which is very scary as he can't even leave the house so how they expect him to work is beyond me! I just feel scared for his future as me and my mum are the only people he has got.
Hi NAS24145,
The team who are best equipped to answer your question would be our Autism Helpline, as they can provide you with information and advice on your issue. You can call them on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm), although please note that the Helpline is experiencing increasingly high demand, and you may not reach them straight away.
Please see the following link for further information:
http://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main.aspx
Additionally, I thought I'd include a link to a page on the NAS website all about benefits, which may be helpful: http://www.autism.org.uk/about/benefits-care/benefits.aspx .
Best wishes,
Nellie-Mod