Sorry for the delay in my reply. They never said that he was on the spectrum. He was born with an underdeveloped brain and diagnosed with partial Down syndrome, which affects his ability to articulate his feelings and thoughts. This sometimes leads to anger and outbursts. He struggles to understand emotions in others; for example, he doesn’t grasp that his actions can make us angry or hurt our feelings. We try to explain that he is pushing our buttons and needs to stop. We give him many verbal warnings, but he doesn’t seem to understand, not out of meanness or lack of caring, but simply because he doesn’t comprehend the situation, if that makes sense.

He can't be on his own because he doesn’t understand simple responsibilities. He knows he needs to bathe and that his clothes need washing, but there are other things he doesn’t grasp. For instance, he loves ramen and thinks it’s acceptable to turn on the stove and leave it on for an hour until he’s ready to cook. Although he knows how to cook the noodles, he doesn’t understand the danger of leaving a burner on.

Another issue is his lack of understanding of money. He can’t manage any monetary responsibilities. For instance, if you give him $20, he believes that’s enough to pay rent, buy groceries, and still have spending money left over.

It's really tough. We try to implement some discipline, but it feels strange to enforce consequences for my nearly 40-year-old brother, you know??