Hi all,
I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask but I'm running out of options. I have two younger brothers with autism who are both agoraphobic. For some context, they have recently turned 18 but have struggled with severe social anxiety since infancy, aggression/violence and were unable to seperate from our mum for many years. I am their sister but I do not live in the family home as I am much older.
They refused to attend school for many years and eventually social services became involved. They were eventually removed from the home and were made to attend a residential school which specialised in additional needs. As a result, they began to finally attend school from the ages 13-16. After leaving school, they were released from the care of social services and were returned to our dad as their primary carer. They refused to attend college.
Due to this, they both have now not left the house for many years. This has of course only increased their social anxiety and agoraphobia. They live in a state of neglect, with extremely messy rooms that our dad is unable to clean or tidy as they become aggressive. Their hair has become very overgrown, as they refuse to leave the house to get a haircut. They have also both gained a lot of weight due to not exercising. This contributes even further to the agoraphobia as they are self conscious about their appearance.
In this period, one of them was exhibiting signs of depression so my parents worked to seek medication for him. This was very difficult as he refused to leave the house or speak on the phone to the GP, but eventually they were able to do so. He has been taking antidepressants for a few months now but it hasn't had much of an impact. It is very difficult to find support for these problems as they are now 18. My dad has recently reached back out to social services to see if there is anything they can do.
Sorry for the long post but there is a lot of context. Has anyone else ever experienced this with their child or in their family and can offer any advice?
TLDR; Two siblings are severely agoraphobic and haven't left the house in years. What can we do?