Hi, this is quite long, sorry... I'm just wondering if anyone can who has experience with kids with problems can advise me further. My eldest son is having a few issues at school, it seems to be a pattern.
He's 5 years old, was late in talking although the speech therapist discharged him saying he would be okay. He was 3 before he started speaking, all other milestones, walking etc were fine. The problem is he can be a bit 'odd' for want of a better word. For example, he repeats things, he and go over and over a phrase until it does my head in and I tell him to stop. He regularly comes out with random statements that aren't really fitting with the situation or conversation, for example, he announces out of the blue what buttons to press on the x-box to play a game. Sounds trivial, but the way he says it is strange; I have no interest in the x-box but he sometimes will say "You press the x button to ....." and insists on telling you what it does. I have noticed people giving him strange looks, it's as if he doesn't understand sometimes how to conduct a normal conversation. It's hard to explain, it's like he says some things like he is stating a fact rather than taking part in a conversation. He will play with other kids, he does try to interact but now he's at school it is clear there are some issues with his social skills.
Last month his teacher informed me that he was getting isolated from other kids because he was constantly talking about a cartoon character he liked. He wasn't joining in with the other kids in the playground, rather wanting to play a particular game involving this character until the other kids got fed up with him. Again he was coming out with odd statements, as if he didn't understand that the cartoon is a fantasy and he should be having conversations about what is happening in the now, if you know what I mean. It did annoy him when he was ostracised and when we asked him not to talk about this character he did but I think that is down to him being obedient, I don't know if he properly understood why he had to. Lately he has been copying a friend to the point the boy is fed up and doesn't want to be bothered with him. Again we had a chat, tried to explain why he was annoying his friend but he doesn't understand what is wrong, he just replied "but when I copy him that means he is my friend", it's painful to hear. I know some children go through phases of copying kids and they grow out of it, but considering other factors I'm concerned it is part of a larger problem.
I maybe have been sticking my head in the sand about this, the reason being that he does try to play with other kids, eye contact is good, he likes a laugh and is quite clever academically. He doesn't have any physical problems like tics etc so I kept making excuses that he was maybe just a bit behind as with the speech and would catch up.
I know there are kids out there far worse, I don't want to think that I am whining. Am I getting concerned about nothing? I have been crying all morning about this, which isn't like me. I don't have any knowledge of these matters, I'm not used to being lost like this and not knowing what to do. I am highly competent in my career, I can work under extreme pressure no problem and am used to taking problems on the chin and dealing with them but this has floored me.