I'd want to see what he's like with a group of similar-ability peers. Because it could be that he's a totally different person
socially when he has a group of kids that don't just look confused when he uses a word like "befuddled" to describe that look that they're giving him.
This is a very good point and one I hadn't considered. I think I'm going to look into some extracurricular activities that would let him be in a group of "similar-ability peers." He might be much happier and have an easier time.
I see how discussing the way my son talks with him would make him even more self-conscious than he already is. I like the idea of him "choosing" how he wants to communicate.
In school his behavior is actually extremely good--he saves up all his frustration and lets it out at home, which I guess I prefer to the alternative!
He doesn't seem to be very happy in school. His teacher says that he is very bored and has trouble "connecting"--the example she gave is that when the class is having a discussion, DS just wants to read his book and be left alone. I feel like he COULD be much happier if he would let himself be "engaged." Just because he has some advanced abilities doesn't mean he can't enjoy a conversation about dinosaurs!
By "in public" I mean outside the home in general. DS doesn't like to cry in public (which is very natural) but he also doesn't like to smile. He seems embarrassed to show any feelings, good or bad. It doesn't seem to be a sensory issue (not that I'm a great expert); he just seems to be unusually self-conscious. I wonder how I can help him be more comfortable--it's painful to watch sometimes!
I was also very self-conscious as a child, and in retrospect I feel like I was precocious in my self-awareness in addition to all the other ways. It was like I had the self-awareness of a fifteen-year-old when I was only eight, and I didn't know how to deal with it. Does that make sense?
If my son is experiencing the same problem, I don't really know how to help him. When I was his age I just had to live through it.
Thank you so much for your response--it is EXTREMELY helpful!
