<p>do you think homeschooling has an affect on this guy's social skills?</p>
<p>HAHAHA!!!</p>
<p>you have to know though, the reason a higher percentage of homeschooled kids seem more antisocial than those in public school is that some people homeschool their kids for that reason.</p>
<p>Don't laugh too hard. The kid just won a $25,000 scholarship. </p>
<p>He seems very literal-minded. I'd guess that he has Aspergers Syndrome or something like that. </p>
<p>IMO, it's not very nice to make fun of disabled people.</p>
<p>wait, you actually think he has a mental condition and he's not just weird?</p>
<p>I haven't seen the video above, but I did see this child and his parents in an interview. He struck me as young for his age, but very intelligent and yes, I too think that there may be something along the lines of Aspergers going on there (maybe, maybe not) . But if that is the case, he should feel very proud of his accomplishments and his on camera interview. </p>
<p>Bottom line, we shouldn't jump to conclusions about people - home-schooled or otherwise. Every situation is different and often it doesn't have anything to do with the schooling choice that was made.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSojmWBwwnk%5B/url%5D">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSojmWBwwnk</a></p>
<p>Here is a YouTube video where he appeared on a talk show. After viewing this I'm even more convinced that there may be some issues there - notice how literal he is and confused by some humor. It's nothing to make fun of - and it's a shame that others don't recognize the challenge he is facing. Took a lot of guts to do those on camera interviews....</p>
<p>^I would have expected a 13 year old to have better social skills than that!</p>
<p>Yes, most 13 yo kids do have better social skills. But this isn't an ordinary kid. He's not just "weird." I do think he has something going on. You can look up Aspergers and see what I mean. </p>
<p>Apparently he is great at math and music, too. If he weren't homeschooled he'd probably be picked on at school--by kids who'd call him "weird." And he might be really frustrated because the class would move too slowly for him. I'd guess those are two reasons he's homeschooled.</p>
<p>also guys there are a ton of weird antisocial kids in public school. it's not what he's doing it's just the way he is, or maybe he does have asperger's as some people have said.</p>
<p>I don't think he has asperger's... I just think he has really people social skills as a result of only being around his family all the time and being treated exactly as he wants by them</p>
<p>Homeschoolers do NOT only interact with their own families. Homeschoolers interact with many, many other people. It's a myth that homeschoolers sit inside with only their parents and siblings for company for 18 years of their lives.</p>
<p>And another thing. There are millions of reasons that families homeschool, and sometimes the reasons involve learning disabilities. A child who has issues will have them regardless of where he attends school. However, living and learning in a warm environment where one does not need to learn how to know if someone is making fun of him is a good thing.</p>
<p>While schooled kids certainly have more practice being made fun of (and mocking others) than homeschoolers in general, that is not a positive thing.</p>
<p>bobmallet: Somebody doesn't move strangely, physically speaking, from being around their family all the time. They are not as strangely literal in their interpretation from being around their family all the time. This kid's issues are not from being around his family all the time, even if he IS around them all the time, because being around one's family simply can't cause such issues.</p>
<p>The kid is DEFINITELY Aspergers. Studying autism/aspegers for 3+ years, seen PLENTY of kids like this.
Don't get humor
Can't read people very well
Very literal </p>
<p>Be kind, they suffer inside, they KNOW they are different and struggle to fit in.</p>
<p>My daughter was at the bee. When Evan won the bee, I felt so protective of him. I knew this sort of thing would happen. Yes, I would guess he has Aspergers. He is also brilliant. I mean, really brilliant - like one of the smartest kids on the planet. </p>
<p>He was also <em>exhausted</em>. The Bee started early on Wednesday morning - 8am. It went on and off all day, until early evening. Then the families of the 59 kids who were still in it had a banquet. It was a 'working dinner', and we were instructed on what to expect the next day. The semi finals were in the morning. If you made it to the finals (my daughter did not), you had about 6 hours between the semifinals and the finals. During that time, the kids went to the White House, then came back, did some interviews, hung out, then got ready for the finals (makeup, etc). We were told to come down to the semifinals packed with everything we would need for the day, because if our kids made the finals we were not going anywhere without a guard. Going to our rooms was strongly discouraged. The finals ended about 10:15. Then Evan was interviewed some more. We were told the winner probably would not make it back to their room until about midnight. Then they would have to be up about 5:30 to fly to NY to do the morning news show. </p>
<p>So, Evan was not a good interview subject. He is a great speller, an amazing mathematician and a talented musician. I think people can give him a break on his interview skills.</p>
<p>Whoa! Some of the kids at my high school should be videoed to chronicle their crummy social skills. Hey - there's the guy who asked my friend out on a date. After she said, "Yes," his buddies told her it was a joke. A popular guy like Joe would never be interested in her! What type of social skills is that? Or the bad manners during awards ceremonies. . . are those good social skills? You can find all kinds of kids in both the homeschooling and schooling environments. The type of schooling doesn't determine the behavior, other things do.</p>
<p>Another example of poor social skills can be seen right here: rudeness and bad manners, as in making fun of others. </p>
<p>maributt, you might want to read up a little on Asperger's (it is not exactly a "mental" condition, as you called it). Some very intelligent people are now believed to have had Asperger's - Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison (he was also homeschooled because teachers thought he was stupid).</p>
<p>Has anyone seen the movie "Mozart and the Whale"? My husband and I watched it last week. It is based on the true love story of two people with Asperger's. I was curious to know how accurately it portrays Asperger's. After reading an article about Asperger's many years ago, I wondered if my son might have it. However, it was not severe enough that we ever looked into it. (He has Tourette's, so we already had that to deal with.) His social skills were always slow to develop, totally unlike his very social brother. However, he is an adult now and doing well.</p>
<p>Regardless, I'll always make fun of homeschoolers. They're awkward.</p>
<p>LOL - did you check out this link, "Stupid in America" posted on another thread? No wonder people home school - - who needs educational and social skills like these?
<a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6488468587715702384&q=Stupid+In+America&total=1612&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0%5B/url%5D">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6488468587715702384&q=Stupid+In+America&total=1612&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on Mozart and the Whale - I ordered it just now :-)</p>