heartbreaking

As a parent of a child with a disability (well, two disabilities if ADHD counts), it's heartbreaking to see him struggle with making friends. His Autism causes him to be easily over-stimulated and to misread social cues of others. When over-stimulated, he makes strange noises, gets too close to kids, and generally can be annoying to other kids. He also can't "read" that they are annoyed, and thinks that they are enjoying his "silliness". Once in this mode, he's nearly impossible to re-direct until someone yells at him or gets hurt. He wants desperately to have a friend, but has never been invited to a birthday party or sleepover. We sign him up for things like scouts, karate, and baseball in the hopes that he can make a friend, but these social clubs just help point out how different he really is. He's really not that into scouts, we have to force him to look at his handbook or do things to advance. Jim hates going on camping trips (he has the same social anxiety and can't handle any kind of chaos), so we've decided to quit scouts for a year or two. James has wanted to get back into karate, but it's expensive and a long drive (gas money!). We're going to a trail lesson Wednesday to see how it goes. Maybe he'll find someone to relate to there...
On a positive note: people used to think I was my son's grandmother, but now they think I'm my granddaughter's mother. So, therefore, I must look younger than I did 10 years ago. Is it the change from spiky red hair and glasses to long blonde hair and contacts? Or is it the change of atmosphere from anxiety and stress-filled heat and humidity in Florida to calm and relaxing life in the mountains? I don't care!! They think I'm Haylee's mom and that's a compliment I will surely take!