Helping the quirky kid survive middle school.

I have heard the middle school horror stories but never actually experienced it first hand. I was far from popular but went to a tiny private PK through 12th grade school. A graduating class of 32 and we were all close. My husband was homeschooled until high school and never struggled with fitting in.Our oldest is 13 and in 8th grade. He loves middle school. He's a popular student leader and athlete. He's president of junior honor society and is a captain on his sports teams. He was asked to the Halloween dance last weekend. He's right in his element.My 7th grader is struggling. He has always been super quirky but was in gifted and talented throughout elementary school. He went to a different middle school than his small group of friends and the one kid who is with him doesn't talk to him anymore. My older one was able to help last year but they are starting to grow apart. They still love each other but they have different interest.My 7th grader is such an amazing kid but he's interested in a lot of things other kids simply don't care about. He'll get interested in a topic at school and then spend countless hours online finding out more on the topic. He loves autobiographies and would rather read about President Polk than attend a sporting event. The mall is a popular hang out spot but my 7th grader has no interest. He used to play sports with the neighborhood kids but has stopped that as well.Tonight he is planning on staying home and playing video games or reading a book instead of trick or treating. He has complained about having no friends and we have been reluctant to keep limits on screen time because it's all he really has other than books. I have tried getting him interested in sports. My husband even works for an NFL team but we haven't had any success. He doesn't have any interest in playing or watching anything. He's was in the yearbook and gaming clubs but he said those became such cliques and he couldn't find his way in either.Any advice from anyone who experienced this as a parent or student? via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2qjnNhQ