Hello,

First time poster, longtime lurker.

Our 8th grade son is a very bright kid who does extremely well in all subjects but really excels in math and science. He is also a very athletic kid who makes all of the top teams in the sports he plays. This obviously puts a lot of pressure on him and demands a lot of time.

While there are many areas of my son�s development that we need help with, the one that concerns me most is communication. He has always seemed immature for his age and this has caused many problems as you can imagine. He also seems hyper focused on things like college and grades which isn�t a bad thing, but he is still a 14 year old boy. We recently attended teacher conferences and while we were thrilled to hear how bright they thought our son is, the comments about not �really knowing him� or �he doesn�t say much in class� were the ones that resonated most.

I am an introvert. This has been something I have struggled with my whole life. While he is at a tough age hormonally and socially, I want to be able to put him in positions where he can gain confidence and step out of his comfort zone. His older sister is a junior in high school and very social but she doesn�t have the time of day for her younger brother at this point.

He is very social with his friends but many times in an awkward way. On the way home from his last basketball tournament he was asking his teammate about what college he wants to go to. His teammate was more interested in talking about the Golden State Warriors game the night before. With adults he often struggles to make conversation and usually gives robotic like yes or no answers to question asked of him. I see this with grandparents, coaches, teachers, etc. I know he has a lot to say because he does talk to his mom and dad.

Do you have any recommendations or suggestions for every day experiences that will help get him engaged in conversation specifically with adults? Also, any leadership and confidence building experiences that you�ve had that were positive?

Thank you for any suggestions,