DS8 is in year 3 and since starting junior school he has really struggled socially to fit in. He had a few friends at infant school and 1 close friend that he played with a lot of the time and sometimes in a group with others. They were split into different classes in Junior school and this friend has since found new friends to play with. I tried to keep up with some playdates but they now seem to have grown apart. DS is not particularly interested in football and other sports whilst they rest of the boys in his junior class are. There seems to be a few non-sporty types like DS in other classes but they have their own set of friends. Due to his social difficulties we/school are looking into him being assessed for Aspergers syndrome. However, he doesn't seem to have the many of the typical traits other than social problems.
There were about 4 children from his infant school class that went up to his new class and he plays with 2 of them occasionally but most of the time they are off playing football. There was another boy that he picked on his list to go upto his junior class with but this boy doesn't seem to play with in him anymore. I tried to arrange a playdate a couple of months ago to try and encourage a wider circle of friends and texted this boys mum. She texted back and said she didn't think they were friends anymore and he wouldn't be interested. This was before she had even asked him as he was in bed. I was so upset for him.
I just wish he had at least one close friend at school that he was able to play with most days and I feel he would then find it easier to join in groups. He says some days he often wanders around the playground by himself and when he tries to join in, he gets told to go away. On other days he sometimes plays with a few of the girls in his class but at this age they don't always want to include the boys. He goes to a extra class within school to try and help with social skills but this doesn't seem to help him when he is actually in the playground. I so worried that this will stay the same throughout the rest of his time at school as he gets more and more socially excluded. We talk about friendships and how to join in etc and he is happy to play alone sometimes but would like a friend/group of friends. Has anyone had a similar experience with their DC and what did you do to help? Did anything change as they progressed through school? I would be grateful for any advice please.