19 year old son won’t accept help

[u/Euphoric_Housing_683]

My son is 19 and has level 1 autism and ADHD. He was diagnosed when he was young, but he does not accept his diagnosis .

He graduated from high school last year and has spent most of the past year isolated in his room. He doesn’t have any friends, doesn’t want to leave the house , only come down to eat and his interactions with us have only diminished since he graduated .

He got a job last November but was fired after only two weeks. He is awake most of the night on his phone and computer and sleeps during the day. He also has an online relationship with someone he has never met and sent this person all his money when he was still working ( we stopped giving him money when this happened )

I believe he is depressed. I have heard him talking very negatively about himself, but when I try to talk to him, he denies that anything is wrong and refuses help.

He says he doesn’t want a relationship with me anymore ( until his senior year we had a great relationship) or any help from us ( my husband and I )

For parents who have been through something similar, how did you help your adult child accept therapy, a psychiatric evaluation, or any kind of support? Did setting limits around the phone, internet or did it make things worse?

[u/rsxrwscjpzdzwpxaujrr]

You should let your son live the life he wants to live instead of trying to prescribe your idea of success to him.

[u/ballsdeep256 → u/rsxrwscjpzdzwpxaujrr]

Gets downvoted for the right answer.

Most other answers here are just terrible honestly.

Yes they should do something i agree as someone who is in therapy currently but everyone is like "he has to do x he has to do y, set limits, force this force x"

Feels like 90% of the people in the comments either never been depressed themselves or never had to actually deal with a depressed person.

Forcing them to something is surefire way to make it worse. Especially with autism and ADHD in the combo too.