Lynn, sorry to hear about all of this.

(02-22-2011, 07:55 PM)LynnNBoys Wrote: My older son with SPD gets invited to another child's birthday party *maybe* once a year, and some of those are actually friends of my younger son but they invited siblings too. Younger son gets invites about 5-7 times a year. My older son has started noticing in the last year or so that he doesn't get many birthday party invites or doesn't have very many friends. My heart breaks when he cries, "Why doesn't anyone like me? Why don't I have any friends?" I try to reassure him, but I don't know what to do sometimes. Right now, he does have one friend in his class and he plays a lot with his cousin who is 2 years older than him.

Man oh man, does this ever remind me of myself. I was the same way at his age, and it never really stopped. I didn't really get invited to much or go anywhere or get to do things with people. Even when I was invited, I couldn't really ever do all that it would entail to go and do whatever it was I was being invited to. I'm still the same way. I can't survive a party, so I never go. I don't really have any strong friends in real life, and I doubt I'd be here today if I hadn't made any friends online. The loner hanging in the shadows? Yeah, that's pretty much me by now.

I really have SPD to thank for most of that, as well as being the third born 'forgotten child' of four in my family. So I guess it's plain to see why I'm passionate about the SPD cause.

The difference? I didn't start treatment (like, really start it) until I was 20 years old, after years of crap like that had been going on. Your son, however, gets to start it now, gets to understand that it's SPD that is making things so difficult for him, and that this isn't his own fault. That is pretty critical.

It's hard, it's tough, but it will be okay. Even I will someday have real life friends and perhaps (if I get real lucky it would seem) an intimate relationship. Probably not very soon, but hopefully soon enough. Who knows, perhaps I'm just posting this because I'm kind of feeling the same way about myself right now.

Anyhow, hope things improve, and just remember that we're here for you.