Unconfident 9 year old

[xyzn75]

My 9 year old son has never like school simply because he could not make friends and it bores him.  He is doing okay at school but I need to give a little push at home.  At school he is being bullied because he is a little weird compared to others.  He cannot accept jokes or tease even from us the parents where he will be mad.  When he is teased he will try to hit that person whom ever that is.  He has no problem with learning except that he does not like to be told what to do (don't we all).  But he will not do anything if he is not asked to do so.  He has been playing games since he was 3 and that is very much the life he loves.  Also, he is a very insecure of himself, afraid to ask and tell even when he is bullied to the teachers. During weekends I enrolled him for classes like swimming and martial arts and he seemed to love them.  I am afraid if this behavior continues he would want to abandon school and friend all together.  Does he need special school or does he has any kind of disorder?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

He is not developing in the expected fashion in regards to his interpersonal relationships, and it also sounds like you could use some help in the area of behavior management. It would help him (and you) to arrange an evaluation with a behavioral health or mental health professional.