Son's strange behavior

My 8 year old son is the oldest of 3. He often does some strange things that I guess you could say are socially unacceptable. He does not have many friends at school. He often plays chase with the girls at recess. As for the behaviors, he does not greet people appropriately. He is very abrupt. He crosses all of his fingers all the time. He even tries to write like that. When asked to stop, he says he doesn't feel right if he doesn't do this. At one point he was burping all the time.  Or he may start making strange noises. He pulls or pushes his underwear into his behind, and of course he says it does not feel right if he doesn't do this. We have talked about socially acceptable behavior and he admits that he doesn't want to be embarrased, but he still continues this sort of thing. I have spoke to his teacher some. She says he often will sit back not interacting with the kids, but studying them. He also wrings his hands at school and will ask the teacher to play with him in during free time. She also said that he seems nervous when talking to the teacher. He usually an outgoing child, asks questions of everyone.  His questions are sometimes inappropriate, but often are good questions.  He is smart and gets all A's.  He has been having a temper at home with siblings and dog.  He shows little empathy for others and is considerably self centered in actions and thoughts. Thanks

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The characteristics you describe ane not within the normal spectrum for a child of eight years. Cognitively, he seems to be proceeding well. But socially and emotionally he is not. He may also be showing some signs of neurointegrative problems, such as sensory integration difficulties. It would be prudent to seek evaluations by a mental health clinician and by an occupational therapist, or an evaluation by a developmental psychologist or developmental pediatrician (who can then guide you about any specialized assessments that should occur).

[stanaxe]

Not having many friends, studying his classmates, attempting interaction with the teacher...sounds as though he may posess above average intelligence.  Inquire as to how he views other people and if he believes he has any special talents or interests.  Does he show more interest in adult activities than those of children his own age?  The "abnormal" behavior such as crossing his fingers, is another sign of someone who may harbor unique psychological, sociological and philisophical ideas.  He's a 'thinker' and as such his behaviors may appear out of the ordinary, simply because he is extraordinary.

[AmyInGa]

Alot of what I read of his behaviors reminds me of my son. He was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. It is in the Autism Spectrum. Asperger's kids are "high functioning", i.e. very smart, intuitive, creative, above average intelligence. I would advise looking up Asperger's. After years of wondering what in the world to call his "problems" when I found Asperger's and the symptoms, I cried. He doesnt take any medication. But has attended a Behavior Disorder classroom as well as regular ed. classes. This helps him "deal" by offering him a smaller class with more individual attention. Next year it will be all regular ed. He is 9 now and has just been given a scholarship to a local art school. Dont give up. Get busy and read all you can.

[zenory]

A related discussion, childs thoughts was started.