Thank you so much for all these stories, it is incredibly helpful to get all this btdt perspective that is so hard to find in real life.
I realize that in our case, it is the emotional side even more than the social side that worries me. DS is tall, thin and handsome in a geeky sort of way, and girls seem to like him. He has a harder time with boys, particularly as he is unable to do the posturing and physical stuff. He is all sincerity and literalness. I am not even worried about him drinking too early - he is too much worried about the effects of alcohol even now, barely swayed by peer pressure and anyway, we live in Europe, he can legally drink with his parents at 14 and by himself at 16, which takes a lot of pressure off kids to prove their coolness by rule breaking.
But he is physically awkward and really bad at ball games, and while he wouldn't be interested in school sports and we can choose club sports for him where he might be able to succeed inspire of this (I will try to keep him interested in martial arts to improve his coordination, and later let him try out rowing) there is mandatory PE and games at recess...I could tell he was upset that his first number grade in PE was as bad as it was.
How to keep up his confidence, let him overcome his anxieties, understand that another kid being unfair or mean is not the end of the world or even that bad on the side of the kid...i think it might be harder with a second skip.
And all of you who reminded me that nothing is set in stone are right of course. Well, we might be choosing his high school soon, as middle and high are one continuous program we live. But schools can be changed and there is always early college - the local university might be a good science choice at least for a couple years.
Any more stories? Loving how this thread turned out!
