How neurodivergent kids can start making friends

Mel Robbins, one of my favorite people to follow and listen to, says, "You are one decision away from a completely different life." I'm a huge believer in the power of this concept. I also feel like it's very applicable when it comes to making friends.

Sometimes our kids struggle to make friends because of their reputation. They don't realize they are saying or doing things that are sabotaging their reputation and, as a result, their relationships.

And sometimes our kids have great reputations, and still no friends. Sometimes it has nothing to do with who they are, and everything to do with what they are or are not doing.

In this week's podcast/YouTube episode, I'm sharing easy things kids (or adults!) can do to start making connections that can lead to friendships. 

Here's a clip from the episode:

If you guys think about when we were, you know, when you’re five or six or if you have a kiddo who was recently five or six, and they may run up to each other and say, ‘Hey, will you be my friend?’ Clearly, that's not actually how friendship works, right? But some of our kids hold on to that concept for years after they're five or six, they think you can just ask somebody to be a friend. Not really how it works. So friendship requires that we're spending time together, outside of where we know this person. All right, so we've established there's a chasm, usually, between acquaintance and friendship. There's a big chasm there. We've established that most people we know are acquaintances. We've talked about how some of our kids recognize they don't have any friends, and some of our kids think everybody's their friend. So how do we actually get from an acquaintance to a friend?

Listen to the podcast episode.

Watch on YouTube.

No matter whether your child is struggling with their reputation or with the steps needed to make friends, I have a program for that! Our next cohort starts in January. You can learn more and join the waiting list HERE.