My 6 year old is a lovely, funny little boy who really does want friends. But, he gets immediately over stimulated if he's invited into a game and will jump up and down, flap his arms and get VERY loud. We've noted that other children find it difficult to deal with and sometimes even ask him why he's gotten so hyped up over a game of tag or football. Other times they sort of look startled and have been known to run away. My son is then left confused and heartbroken.
Once he breaks that initial barrier though, he seems to have fun and so do the other children.
So, we'd like to teach him some techniques for when he gets excited / over stimulated that reduces his noise impact on others. Jumping up and down is fine but his screeching definitely puts people off. Has anyone ever successfully supported their child with something like this? We're looking into a play therapist but he already sees so many other people that we don't want him to get the idea that every aspect of his life and personality has to be managed. So, we want to manage thing ourselves if we can.
Any thoughts / resource recommendations welcome. Thanks