7year old struggling

[Rainingcatsandmice]

I am really concerned about my 7 year old son. He has older siblings- biggish gap- but has always struggled to form friendships with peers. He cannot respond appropriately when children either leave him out, laugh at him or say things such as ‘Go away’. He will push/hurt out of frustration, anger and disappointment. This doesn’t happen all the time and it only happens in school. He attends a range of clubs/childminder with no issues. He has recently moved to the school in which I work for a fresh start but the same issues have started up again. I’m so embarrassed as I work there! I’m so worried that he will never have friends. It’s a very negative cycle we are in and I’d hoped a new school would improve things. I’ve run out of ideas to help him. We do all usual things- remove screens/treats, talk through what has happened etc. He is always reactive when he lashes out, it’s not random. Always in response to something which has made him cross. I don’t know what else to do.

Have you asked him why he lashes out? Talked to him about managing his anger rather than punish it. Do you suspect any underlying sen? Sensory issues? Sounds like you need to talk to his teacher and maybe get him assessed. Does your school have an Elsa that could work with him? Good luck.

Thank you for your reply. He says he can’t control it and does it because someone has said something which has upset/annoyed him. For example ‘you have no friends’.
It seems like in the moment he completely forgets other strategies such as walk away or find an adult to help. For context this is only an issue at school playtimes. Everywhere else it’s just a non issue and not a problem. The school does have an ELSA so I will explore that further.