Hi,
My youngest son is 18. He did not attend school during Years 10 and 11 because he had an anxiety disorder (GAD) which was compounded by a family crisis.
He had a little home tuition (on the occasions when he would come out of his room) and attended a PRU for the last term of Y11 on a one to one basis, where he sat his GCSEs.
He left school in 2017 with no qualifications at the level most employers/trainers are looking for,
Since leaving school, he has had little help from outside agencies. He attended college fr a week in September 2017 and he had an EHCP. However, he stopped attending and was asked to leave the college during the second week of term.
I have been trying to find some part time work or some entry level training/apprenticeships with him, but we have had little success. He did attend a military preparation course for two months last year, but he lost motivation when he realised he could not join the armed forces until he was 20 due to a prescription for an inhaler.
At first, we got a few interviews and one or two offers of employment. However, the employment only lasted a day because he walked out of both positions.
Now, he is 18 and has two years of unemployment to account for, finding a job is becoming difficult. He refuses to sign on and, to be honest, I do not know whether external pressure to find work would make any difference. Yet he is becoming steadily more and more unsettled. He told me yesterday that when he was cutting a hedge in the garden, he wondered what it would be like to 'feel the warm blood trickling down his leg' if he slashed himself. He has not self-harmed, but his brother has (his brother experiences psychosis).
I just do not know how to help him and I am well aware that this is a very long post. It is just a relief to pour it all out.
I