Jonathan joined public school is September 2011 after being in a wonderful private school for 2 years. We made the decision to put him back in public school to force him to learn how to adapt to a mainstreamed environment. Our goal was to give him the tools to be able to socialize with a larger group. And for the most part, he has been able to do quite well. He is a straight A student and he enjoys the school. He attended this school in the past during pre-K through 1st grade. However, he still has trouble fitting in and understanding unspoken (and sometimes spoken) cues. We put Jonathan in a private social skills therapy that has been helping a bit. But not as much as we had hoped.
Last week he had a very open and honest conversation with me. He told me that he feels different most of the time. Weird even. "Why do I walk around the classroom twice to get to the tissue box Mommy? There is something wrong with me. I feel that I day-dream too much. I cannot control it. I also have too many accidents. I am very clumsy all the time. Why? What is wrong with me." I spoke with him to reassure him that he was okay. And in the end, he felt better. The last thing I want to do is break his confidence towards himself.
Yesterday, he then again brought up that he felt weird several times during the day. "There is something wrong with me Mommy. I feel that I am in another place. I feel like I am weird". It kills me that he is lucid enough to realize these things. How do I handle this? I need professional help. The last thing I want is to break his own confidence. If I am tell him that he has a small disability, he will focus so much in it that it might be counterproductive. How to handle this?
