Oops, I really feel for you. My dd was very similar..the only difference was she wasn't even able to speak to the teachers . I was surprised to find this out though as she would come home seeming quite happy but as far as her teachers were concerned they had never seen her talking to anyone. Like your ds, her teachers and I, felt that she was very bright and I think that this brightness helped her to not feel too sad - she was very intellectually bright, but less so on a social and emotional level and so I think she was able to lose herself in drawing, books, numbers and letters and not think too deeply about the fact that she may not have been able to interact with others very easily. Like your ds, my dd would think that she had played with a group of people because she had stood on the outskirts of their group smiling - I'd try not to shatter this illusion as keeping their self-confidence up is fundamental to them moving on to the next stage. I think if you want to be pro-active you could invite people to your home irrespective of whether they seem to know of your ds, (just make sure that you're friendly enough with the other mums and this won't seem a weird invitation as at that age I think its normal for children to become freinds because their mothers get on rather than vice versa), as we found that seeing people from pre-school on her own territory eventually loosened her up to the extent where she was able to continue her relationships with them inside pre-school. The other thing my dh & I did with her was roleplay and this seemed to make a huge difference (I know this sounds completely mad, but we felt really anxious for her) - bascially a game of schools or something where she would make freinds with the person sitting next to her (me or dh) during the game - this sounds too obvious and simple to actually work but it really did - I suppose some children actually need to practice making friends if it doesn't come naturally to them. As my dd has got older we have come to realise that she is actually a very strong character in her own quiet way and is not easily influenced by her peers as she doesn't seek their approval overly. She is also exceptionally kind and gentle and these characteristics seem to have slowly won her lots ofloyal friends. The main thing is that your ds sounds happy and is perfectly normal at home - which I always hoped was the basis for becoming more confident outside of home. Well done for seeing the positives in your ds the way he is - he does sound lovely.