Reply to 11 year old doesn't have any friends with his interests

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[quote=Anonymous]i have a now 18yr old who was/is very similar. It’s really not a lack of common interests thing, but a social skill problem. It was painful watching my brilliant son be so different and have no clue how to navigate his social life. I had to push him out of his comfort zone (sounds like your son has issues with that considering the inappropriate reaction to suggesting different youtube videos). Sports has become my son’s salvation. At first he hated sports, but i did not let him quit because his social skills were so poor. Fast forward and he’s finishing his last season on his varsity team as a starter and team captain. He still loves learning about Nuclear fusion for fun, still loves all things physics, still does math “for fun” and still can’t understand why anyone would go to a party and talk about nonsense all night. He does sometimes accidentally talk over peoples heads when he’s excited about something that literally NOBODY CARES ABOUT However sports have given him common ground and an ability to relate to his peers. I cannot underestimate the importance  of putting kids like ours into new uncomfortable social situations and forcing them to adapt.

i still worry about him because all the brains in the world you can have will be wasted if you can’t adapt to your fellow humans are are not “likable” brilliant people are a dime a dozen and people do business with people they like. You don’t build connections in life discussing obscure  intense topics.

I did not focus on finding my son new peers, but i focused on helping my kid learn social skills that are critical to relationship and career success. Now that my son is aren't for roommates he KNOWS he needs to not find one like himself. he needs that roommate that will drag he out of his comfort zone and continue to challenge him to grow and adapt socially.

People are going to hate this statement, but it’s the hard truth, you don’t want your kid to end up that weirdo that can’t carry a normal conversation without turning it tedious. [/quote]

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