HI there - my son just turned 19, and if I could turn back the clock to his being 13 I would. Our son is also very high functioning on the spectrum (although he makes eye contact perfectly and acts normal around adults... he is not "normal" with his peers. He is very bright - did extremely well in school but started spending all his time around his freshman year of high school at home on weekends and in his room. We thought he was studying but we just found out a year ago he his "friend" group had left him out of a group text and started going out without him when he was about 15. And these kids were the geekiest kids at school. He put on a brave face throughout high school but his confidence was dropping. My husband told me I was worrying for nothing. But when he came home from university due to Covid, we discovered he was clinically depressed and he has since told a therapist he was suicidal while he was at college. All of this stemmed from bullying that he never told us about. We just thought he was a quiet brainiac kid. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. Don't let your son fall into a long-term depression. Do whatever you can to work with the school to get him socialized, no matter what it takes. My son is showing some progress now with medication but it's a long road ahead and I wish I had done more while he was suffering in high school (unbeknownst to us.)
... View more
