Q: “My 16-year-old son socializes through gaming and refuses to make any effort to develop friendships in real life.
When I bring up the subject, he flies off the handle. How can I help my struggling teen?” Friendships seldom spark or endure easily for boys with ADHD, who may avoid or sabotage real-life friendships due to weak social executive functioning (SEF) skills related to cognitive flexibility and situational awareness.
Social anxiety is also prevalent among some teens with ADHD, yet many are unable to articulate this difficulty, which can lead teen boys to retreat into online worlds and video games.Improve your teen’s SEF skills by helping them to:[Could My Child Have Social Anxiety?
Take This Self-Test]Social anxiety is common among teen boys. Easing their discomfort around social situations will help them move away from screens and build offline friendships.