Some context
Parents died horribly and unexpectedly years prior. This has caused a myriad of problems for us. It's just me (26) and my brother (16) left so I have to to be a parent figure to him. Due to these events, I was diagnosed with mixed depression and anxiety and my brother was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Due to the symptoms of this disorder (mostly suicidal thoughts), he was forced out of an exclusive scholarship school on grade 9 (but still passed), and dropped out on grade 10 from a private school that I chose. He is now continuing grade 10 on a public school. If it matters, he is living with my aunt and only visits me on weekends so I am mostly managing him remotely.
Currently his teachers report that he is capable and intelligent and gets high marks in his tests so far. He was previously a consistent honor student before the diagnosis.
It is the last of my mom's unfulfilled dreams to have us complete our education. So the pressure is on us to accomplish it.
Problem
He is absent 1 to 3 times a week with any of a few reasons:
- Health issues: Stomach aches, headaches
- The most prevalent: Dark days. He describes this as mentally unable to do anything and physically fatigued.
Although teachers have expressed concerns on his absence, it is likely that he will graduate junior high but I am worried that this behavior is carried over to senior high and college which might be more strict.
I am trying to balance how not to stress him out (esp. to the point of having suicidal thoughts) but still being able discipline him.
What I tried
- We are both seeing a therapist (separate) and a psychiatrist (shared). We are assessed to be doing well since there are lesser suicidal thoughts and we are in the process of tapering off our meds. His therapist has given him techniques to survive dark days like grounding and joining. Both doctors agree that he should not stop school even temporarily as doing so will be detrimental to his mental health.
- I have offered incentives. (e.g. "If you have no absences for a month, I will buy you that headset that you wanted.") No incentives have been claimed so far. Harsh ultimatums/negative reinforcement (e.g. "If you are absent one more day this week, I will have you delete Mobile Legends forever.") has worked but I'd like to avoid it if I can.
- We have an agreement where he has to go to school even if it is a dark day and just go to the clinic to rest if it becomes unbearable. The therapist agrees that this deal is reasonable. He is sometimes able to do this.
- Since I am also experiencing dark days myself and am working full-time, we have an agreement where we limit both of our absences to once a week then slowly work it down to once a month. Based on his performance, I will decide whether or not to fund his college education. He will instead go to college on his own pace, terms, and resources. My logic is 1) some colleges are attendance-based. You will be dropped if you don't attend your classes regularly. 2) I refuse to invest my money in an uncertainty and 3) having no college education is not the end of the world. There are lots of successful people that are not college graduates. My brother has failed to uphold his end of the bargain so far. Therapist says that this might cause too much stress and I must dial it down.
Question
What other ways could I lessen his absences? What am I doing wrong?