YES, YES, YES.
I get the impression that his ideal would be for me (or another adult) to be like his helper animal, a constant, focused presence, constantly talking, constantly interacting, nearly every second he's awake
Ding-ding-ding. You have just described my DD. She, too, is a highly sensitive introvert who-- you'd figure--
should be the world's most perfect autodidact, right?
NOT. SO.
She
has to "discuss" it all. Intensely. Socratically. It's
exhausting.What she actually needs is a rotating menu of personal expert tutors. Only even that wouldn't be enough, because, er-- I'm pretty bright and pretty widely read and eclectic in my interests obsessions, and I can tell that
I occasionally frustrate her by not being terribly interested in, say...
the development of the Napoleonic code. Or 1950-70's Turkish music. Why we haven't converted to a DNA-based system in biological naming/classification... Or how D&D turned into Pathfinder...
She's 14, and while it was at its very zenith just prior to her learning to read at 4, I still find it utterly exhausting.
I hate to say this-- but I think this is a hard-wired trait. The best you can hope for is a LOT of extracurricular activities that encourage a
lot of intensively inquiry-led exploration and discussion. HIGH level book clubs, lego robotics, etc.
