What a Difference a Friend Makes

When my son Tim was younger, he didn’t have a lot of friends. From a very early age, he didn’t relate well to other kids. He didn’t want to play with them. It wasn’t a matter of not wanting to share toys; he had no interest in people his own age and size. Adults thought he was charming because he would sit on their laps, giggle, and even flirt with them, but a small child can’t form a relationship with the occasional adult visitor. We let Tim’s lack of friends slide, describing it as one of Tim’s idiosyncrasies; another piece of shrapnel inflicted by the war on his mental illness. Until he went into residential treatment. There he met other teens like him with the same challenges, and through living with them, going to school with them, and playing sports with them; he made friends, for really the first time in his life. And I firmly believe that his friends have played a huge role in his stability.

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  • GB's Mom October 13, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    I found friends to be one of the unexpected benefits when J was in RTC.

  • Chrisa October 13, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Isn't it? I absolutely wasn't expecting that.

  • Danette October 13, 2011 at 3:33 pm

    Really, without friends, what do we have? Life is very lonely and can be scary. I am so happy for your son. He has something now that he may not have known he needed. This must warm your heart!

  • Mama Bear October 17, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    My son has recently started forming friends after a long year of depression and anxiety, to see him smiling ear to ear as he has the time of his life in a play date is more than icing on the cake.