Building friendships through support groups -- Part 12
To create a support group of your own, visit Support. In the meantime, here's the latest installement from Sarah and Joan's group. To read the series, go to Friendship.
My child is socially inept.
“Have you noticed how that type of obnoxious noise makes it difficult to find and keep friends? Valeries continues the conversation. “Most kids run the other way. Caroline will also burst into anyone’s conversation and then wonder why the other girls are miffed at her. I know she cares about her friends but she acts so insensitively when she’s around them. I guess it’s because she’s afraid of getting her feelings hurt if the girls reject her, so she kind of makes it happen, keeping a little control. Or maybe she doesn’t know a polite way to be included, but when she barges in like that, the girls think she’s rude.”
“I understand how difficult social interaction is for challenging kids,” says Jackie. “When Jared was little he never made the first move. He always waited for someone to invite him to play. Because his level of intelligence was beyond his peer group, it was hard for him to relate to them.”
“Mark thinks everything must be fair,” adds Mia. “Not just fair but equal and resolved to his liking. The only way he can deal with conflict is through physical force or name-calling. He needs to win at all costs. How many friends can you keep if you always have to win and are unwilling to compromise?”
