Should I make my homeschooled son participate in social activities with age mates when he says he has nothing in common with them? He says the boys his age are only interested in football and other sports and they are not interested in any of the things he is interested in. He says even though he is an actor (musical theater) he gets tired of acting like he is interested when all they want to talk about is sports.

Even when we visit family, the coversation frequently turns to sports because his cousins play football and one is a high school quarterback. I am not interested in sports either so it is even difficult for me to find things to talk about with them.

We live in a sports obsessed community. Our water tower carries the name of a football player. We have a nice football field but no library. They hold boys back a year in school so they will be better in sports. Sports kids bully non-sports kids and teachers look the other way. My son's friend had to have stitches in his head when a sports kid hit him on the bus. People here think "boys will be boys" and that dealing with bullies helps kids become tougher. My son only went to Kindergarten at our school and said "sports kids rule the school."

He says he would like to meet other kids like him but I am having trouble finding any other kids who are both gifted and have dyspraxia. Most of my son's friends are several years older and academically gifted and are in his musical theater group and none of them have dyspraxia. They are the only kids that invite him over for birthday parties and sleep-overs.