Hi everyone, I am new to this group, and I am here to see if anyone has any suggestions.I have a 13 year old son who vehemently resists going to school at least once a week because of the way his "friends" treat him. He is essentially ignored at school all day long and hears them make plans, watches them walk off together in a big group (often walking around him), and sees them post photos of their time together. The kids he has been friends with since kindergarten no longer want to have anything to to with him. We have also witnessed it from home. He will reach out to multiple kids to socialize, but they all come up with excuses or cancel at the last minute. The effects of this are awful on our son. He is a social person who truly needs interaction to feel good (I know, that's an issue on its own). To make matters worse, we are friends with all of the parents of these kids, and much of our social time has been spent in family groups, but that has stopped because it causes so much stress for my son (and me!) when it's obvious the kids don't want to be here. I have broached this topic gently with a couple of the parents, but it hasn't helped. They don't know what has happened to change the relationship. We have encouraged him to seek new groups of friends, or even just one kid alone, but his attempts have failed, partially because many kids already have established groups, and also because his confidence is so low that any resistance from someone else shuts him down. He is in a constant depressed funk. It's absorbing me too - I can feel the weight of it on him all the time and I am very concerned about him. We've been on a waitlist for six months to see a therapist, but I am not optimistic as he has made it clear that he will not talk to anyone about this. How can I boost his confidence and help him to understand that these kids do not determine his worth? He has many other great things going for him, but he feels like he is nothing. Thanks.
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