OK, found the skis
FWIW, the therapists and evaluators who saw my ds when he was in elementary school did *not* see issues with his pragmatic language - I don't know if it was due to not seeing him situationally or due to them being focused on other issues. As parents, we felt that most of the social issues were due to not fitting in due to his other 2e challenges up until the time he was around 10, and then it started to become obvious from what he was able to communicate to us that there was something more going on. Later on, in high school, he had another pragmatic language eval and was found to have a pragmatic language delay.
Last thought for now - after ds left his middle school where he made friends, his transition to a high school wasn't easy - his friends were all spread out at different schools so he was once again thrown into a pool of students he didn't know, while still having expressive and pragmatic language challenges. The first semester was tough, but what was helpful was being in a program where he was grouped with the same set of kids for most classes, having one elective which was in an area of his passion that had nothing to do with academics, being at a school which allows all kids to participate on sports teams, and having that success of middle school to carry with him - he'd grown into a young man who believed enough in himself to be able to participate on that sports team without ever talking to anyone or making close friends the way the other kids did so easily, he'd found his academic motivation to get him through the hard work of not only challenging academics combined with his 2e challenge, but also the tough work of taking part in class projects and speaking up in class when he didn't feel like he knew anyone or fit in. That not fitting in didn't last past the first semester - having had enough success in middle school to get the strength and stamina to stick it out when faced with new social challenges really made a huge difference. He's doing *really* well now. Still not exactly nt when it comes to communication but he's happy and he's achieving exactly what he wants to be achieving. He's also an extremely kind and insighful and caring individual after having struggled with wanting to fit in for so many years.
Best wishes,
polarbear
