So my DD is the light of my life and if there is a way to help and support her, I will, not matter what.
She is 3.5 and loves being around children and always asks to see friends, but then around them she behaves in an awkward way. A few examples
- she would silently stare at them, not knowing what to do/say
- she would not respond to what they say
- she would say things a bit out of context
- she does not really understand the game they are playing and not know how to participate
When we find somebody to play with, they will play a bit but if another kid comes, all the time they would start playing together and she would be left aside. (I would argue, for good reasons, as I can see how the two of them manage to organise the play in a much sensible way than with my Dd).
Equally, now she goes to a prep school and many birthdays are coming up and she is not being invited to any of them. Also, she brought up that anybody at school has a best friend but her).
The teachers say that she plays age-appropriately and she has friends, but I agree that from a distance it seems that they are playing nicely. But if you go near and listen, most kids would ask "who's this weirdo".
Now - how can I help her? What can I do? I don't want to knock where confidence but I fear that in future she will develop an understanding of being different and that will hurt her.