[Victoria'smom]

My son has never mastered tone of voice. Now that his friends are getting in trouble for "back-talking" or tone of voice the kids are always telling my son that he's always using a "smart*** tone", or "stop thinking you know everything". He seems to be about to loose his friends that he has had for 3 years. Any suggestion on how to help him keep his friends because this is all sad and confusing to him?

[manwithnofriends]

he doesn't need them. I am autistic myself and never had any. That doesn't mean I can't leave my house. I functioned well enough in school with just one support assistant to talk to and now I'm in uni. (or college if you prefer)

[rosska]

I had a lot of problems with tone of voice growing up. My voice didn't break until I was much older (around 18) and until then if people heard me speaking without seeing me they often thought I was female. Now my voice is extremely deep and I actually struggle with adjusting it the other direction, I'm also told I speak mostly in monotone. I lost quite a lot of friends during my teenage years due to bullying and my own awkwardness around people. But the friends I kept were the only ones I would actually want in my life now anyway because they didn't care what I sounded like or how I dressed, they cared about who I was inside.

I know that may not help your son just now, but all I can say is, it will get better. He'll find other friends who aren't so judgemental and small minded as to care about how somebody speaks, that's not the sign of a real friend.

[JoyDivision7680]

Totally agree with rosska! Being a friend also implies acceptance. My friend and deskmate often tells me I'm cool because I'm weirder than others. Sure, I annoy him from time to time, but he has never said that he doesn't want us to be friends anymore, or that he won't forgive me if we argue. I'm not saying he's the perfect friend (he ain't even my "best friend"), but he's alright.

[RTerroni]

Originally Posted by manwithnofriends

he doesn't need them. I am autistic myself and never had any. That doesn't mean I can't leave my house. I functioned well enough in school with just one support assistant to talk to and now I'm in uni. (or college if you prefer)

Same here

[unaluna]

Do you read aloud at home? This might be awkward for a young teen, but practicing might help.

[Victoria'smom]

We still read aloud every night. He's good at tone when reading aloud but he can't seem to apply it other places. I just wish he didn't blame himself.