Have heard once myself and once DS reporting - he announced to an individual and in one case a group - that he is very smart.
I am bothered by this. Not sure if it's the adult knowledge that it's just not a good thing to do that, worries that he will alienate people this way, I want to say something to him but I know that part of it is because the kids he was talking to are good at sports and he is not.
I was thinking of saying that we don't announce stuff like that, it's like telling someone you have blonde hair, you don't need to tell people that. But I am sort of stumped about why, and he will ask why! what is the rationale for telling him to not do this - no bragging - but it's not bragging.
DS9 (who has AS) has a significant arrogance/bragging problem. We emphasize a few points with him (over and over):
--there are many kinds of smartness; some people are great at knowing what to say; some people are great at reading feelings; some are great at math; some are great at spatial tasks like knitting; some are great at sports. Almost nobody is great at everything, including you; everybody has something they are great at. School smarts are NOT the only important kind of smarts.
--talking about your own strengths is indeed rude. (It is bragging, even if it's true, IMO.) It is permissible to notice the strengths, and use them in talking with your teachers or parents, but not permissible to go around talking about how wonderful you are. It can hurt people's feelings.
--we offer replacement language. It is okay to say "I love math!" but not "I am so awesome at math!" because one is a statement of enjoyment or preference, while the other is a brag.
--we actively practice offering compliments to others, to make DS learn to recognize and value their accomplishments.
--we compliment DS in areas other than his strongest ones; we make a much bigger deal of praising his effort if he achieves in an area in which he is not naturally good at things. This also makes him more aware of what others can do.
I am hoping that with practice he will mature out of this habit of thought.
DeeDee
