12 yr old Daughter struggling with friends

[Precious4]

Hi everyone! My daughter was dx with ADHD in the 2nd grade and was places on 6mg Quilivant In the 4th grade. She always had friends in school. Not a lot, she was shy but a Nice handful. However, this year she is in the 7th grade and the girls she use to hang around no longer talk to her. She doesn’t know why but I have a feeling it has to do with her immaturity. She is very immature for her age. And the girls her age are to mature. Not that I find her immaturity a problem but it is affecting her socially and she doesn’t understand why these girls don’t talk to her anymore and I don’t know what to say. I talked to her ADHD physician and she said that this age is hard and even harder for kids with ADHD because they are about 2 to 3 years behind kids their age. I am not sure how to handle this with her. How do I explain? I just want her to enjoy school and have friends. Any advice would be great. Thank you!

[MunchkinMommy537]

Middle school is horrible. Is she interested in anything that she could make new friends by doing, like a sport or band? Most of my friends from that time were from band, and it not only gave me a group of people with similar interests to spend time with, it also gave me something to focus my time on.

[Layla72372]

I feel your pain! My son will be 14 in a couple weeks but acts like he’s 10 or 11. He has no close friends. Every time he makes a new friend it doesn’t last long because he annoys them and they back off. It’s very sad. I wish I had some advice for you but I don’t. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone.

[Precious4 in reply to Layla72372]

I was talking with someone last night and they suggested a social skills group at the school or in the area. I am going to look into that today. That might be something you might want to research as well. Teenage years are already a struggle, adding this makes it harder! Good luck and thanks for sharing!

[anirush]

Middle School is the worst. My grandson is in band that's about the only place he has friends. Band kids are usually a better group of friends anyway

[Hidden]

Have you talked to the school counselor at her school? They are an excellent resource for this type of issue.

Joyce Mabe, Parenting Coach, parentcoachjoyce.com

[abryans]

My kids are in 4-H- it is really good because the clubs are mixed age groups. It is not all about agriculture- there are rocketry, STEM, home arts, community service and other clubs as well as the ones related to agriculture. It is in cities and suburbs as well as rural areas. We have found 4-H kids and families to be very inclusive and my daughter often says her 4-H friends understand her the best.