I think for my son, 10 has been a difficult age. I have noticed that he seems more concerned about not appearing "weak" or different in any way. A few years ago he said he didn't care what other people thought. I never really believed this. It looked to me like he at least cared a little because he always tried to hide his handwriting and drawing at Cub Scouts, but he refused to admit it.
Now there seems to be more of an effort to prove that he is tough and things like getting the biggest bruise while playing paintball is something to be proud of. He seems more willing to try things that might involve pain.
He heard me talking to my special ed teacher friend about his handwriting issues and how I just couldn't understand why any teacher would have a problem with letting those kids who have difficulty getting their thoughts on paper type. She agreed with me that typing should be allowed for kids like my son, but my son talked to me about this later. He said it is not that easy. Even if the teachers did allow typing, the other kids would find out about it and he would not want anyone to think that he had an unfair advantage or that he wasn't good at something. My son says he would only feel comfortable learning around other twice exceptional kids, and since that isn't possible at our school, we have to homeschool.
