Worried about my teen son

[Alohamom]

My 14 yr old son has been in honors classes for 3 years. He has always socialized with adults and not children. Teachers pet and always made the honors roll. Grades have dropped a bit. Beginning last year, he wanted to have friends. When he went to High school many of his classmates and band friends went to another school. The few kids (mostly girls) in band at his school will not engage with him and he claims they ignore him on purpose. He is very hurt.
He has gotten really upset about this and cried numerous times. He says " I am lonely"..."I have nothing to do and no where to go"...
We try to encourage him to make new friends and try to support and give ideas, but it seems he is not able to move forward. He still wants his previous pals.
He just started therapy. But I still feel so helpless.

[Jess1-RO]

Hi @Alohamom and welcome to the ReachOut Parents Community!

Thank you for making your first post to share what is happening in your family at the moment. It sounds like your son is a bright, intelligent and creative boy, and I can hear how you concerned you are for him 

Making friends can be really tough as a teen starting high school. It is a really dynamic time where students new to the school are finding their feet and understanding who they gel with. You've mentioned that a lot of your son's friends went to a different school for higher education, does he still have contact with these friends?

I can imagine this is so hard for you to hold right now; no parent wants their child to feel sad and lonely at school. Have there been any conversations with the school about this? I am hearing that your son has started seeking professional support, and this could be a really helpful step to upskill him and build his confidence around making friends. How is he finding the therapy so far?

ReachOut are about to post another question and answer tomorrow for our Ask a Child and Family Professional activity that relates to helping teens make friends. If you check out this section of the forums tomorrow evening, I hope the answers from our professionals might give you some ideas and support too