It sounds like the kid has a personality disorder, probably antisocial with some narcissistic/schizotypal features- but this would be better evaluated by a psychiatrist.

This is generally good advice to follow, but wouldn't you know it: one of his biggest triggers is getting frustrated. He is smart, but he doesn't like challenges. It has to be on his terms. One of the strategies I tried to employ to get him to do work is by doing the work myself in a matter of minutes, but he doesn't respond to that. He just deflects everything. He's a nightmare. I can honestly say that I don't like him on a personal level. There are challenging kids that I've worked with in the past who were genuinely nice, and I could sense that. They meant well in his or he own way. But he's different. He's expressed to me many times that he doesn't care about anything or anyone.

Again, are you sure these arent defense mechanisms? If the kid is really smart and has been picked on or not had friends his whole life, its not hard to see how he could get to where he is. And kids are much more receptive than we give them credit for, if you dont like him on a personal level and he can see that, why on earth would he open up to you?

why would you do his work for him as a strategy to get him to work? that's a** backwards. this kid is gonna walk all over you if you do the things he has trouble with. you gotta make him assertive, when he's having a good day and giving a little effort be cool with him and show him that behavior is rewarded with respect. on the days when he's being difficult be more aggressively difficult back to him. this kid has to learn how to trust and respect you, not how to use and play you.

Based on the descriptions provided so far by the OP, I'm inclined to agree with what CC suggests. The kid doesn't sound like a sociopath, but the descriptions of anti-social personality disorder do seem to line up with the brief details available on here.

I don't really think that asking for advice on this subject on a site like this is very appropriate though as none of us, other than the OP, have any knowledge or experience of this kid. If he truly is sociopathic, he needs professional help and support rather than the opinions of a bunch of psychonauts with, for the most part, no knowledge of the complexities involved in such disorders beyond what they're read online.

I think someone put it best, if he's a "know it all" feed him knowledge til he realizes he isn't a know it all. He is in a situation where anyone could potentially feel like a know it all. Modern schools aren't challenging. At all. The only thing difficult is keeping up with busy work.
Try and engage him in something he has an interest in that is way beyond his skill level. Play into his ideas of his genius by saying you're so smart I want to give you this special project.
One of two things will happen: He either excels and realizes a greater potential, developing self esteem removing the need for snarky defense mechanisms, or he reevaluates his self image of smartest person in the world and starts to see himself and other people as human and mellows out that way.

It's very easy to feel like a big fish when you're in a fish tank. Give him a real challenge and break the glass for him.
And I mean really challenge him. If he like math, get him a book on calculus, if he's into languages, try to get him to learn latin and ancient greek, if he likes computers, challenge him to program a new infrastructure for the school's network (just in case have that last one checked over by a third party in case his sociopathy extends into it haha). I think you'll find the facade will fade as soon as he becomes engaged in something more than just pre algebra and watered down history.

edit: just realized I missed the last page of posts. If he gets frustrated easily don't present it as something that has pressure, i.e. don't say ok tough guy, handle this, or you're grades are no longer based on anything but this new thing i have for you. Offer it as an alternative if he wants it, and have many choices that he can bounce around if he gets frustrated. Again, play to his interests.

Also, I agree with the one who said play the role of confidant not commandant but I still believe in that role you can share some hard truths with him. Granted you have to develop that relationship first, but people listen to those they care about when they are criticized even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment.

Hmm, well you could always beat him at his own game to make him more humble. But in a position as a teacher, you should always be understanding and see through such things so better to help him as good as you can. and when he steps out of line, just throw him out of the classroom

Or let him continue to no end, eventually, life will teach him.

One of my closest friend was like that before, although not against me. but he loved to debate people, creating sadness and confusion. he is nothing like that anymore though.
In the end, one always gotta face ones mirror. And usually its not a pretty sight at first


But eventually life will teach him. He may appeared smart, and got sources, but really. It is mostly smoke and mirrors when somebody is like that. The confidence comes before knowledge. Like poker.

Just my 5 cents. Or give him a proper dose of dmt haha KIDDING!!

become a sociopath , then there will be no boundries between you and the kid ,try to stand in his shoes and figure it out

also if this kid is trying to play mind games with you , i think its about time to start worrying ?

kids are kids , just don't bother about any of them so much , they are mostly foolish and will figure in time , just look into his eyes with the expression that he is a fool and he will understand , perhaphs laugh , laugh on him , with him , crack a few jokes , it always eases situations with sociopaths and psychopaths , make fun of him and show him what a fool he is

Just to clarify, I would have myself doing the assignment at the same time as him to set an example, not actually doing his work for him. Actually, he refuses to do work in class, and then his mother does it for him at home and he turns it in. It's a vicious cycle. No, I don't like him on a personal level--how could anyone?--but it's not like I express contempt for him. It's quite the opposite. He just never returns the favor or responds.

I have actually considered that as an adult, he could kill someone without a conscience and then would represent himself in court. I'm not entirely joking...

haha, I can believe it, sounds like a tough case... you should talk to the teacher and see if they can get a parent teacher conference with the principal involved asap. there's no way this kid will budge for anything if his mom is enabling him. she's gotta recognize that she's directly involved in hurting her sons chances of staying in school.

Eight days is a very short time to pass the judgements and apply the labels you are using.

That you are going off of the information of people who have previously failed him does not help. The expectations of those around him may be a huge part of the influence. It sounds like people expect him to have no remorse or to be a sociopath. This approach is very unhealthy. This boy should not be in a public school, which simply does not work for some people, but instead itself promotes, facilitates and causes behavioral problems in a minority of children.

I have worked with similar children, a boy that everyone else says is an future axemurderer, a violent child. I spent an hour with him and his mother freaked about asking how I got him to behave. I tried to teach her about him, but her expectations and views of him are in the way. I've been told by so many other adults that he is horrible, that nobody likes him etc, that he feels no remorse. None of that is true, but not one of the adults can deal with him because he is distinct from them and beyond their understanding as much as they are beyond his understanding. The boy I met was nothing like the boy the others describe, he was thoughtful, kind and enthusiastic. Many of those who saw him with me stated they had never seen him like that and they did not think he could be like that, that they thought he could not feel remorse or be kind or make friends pretty much guaranteed it.

If you are serious about this you should investigate his interests, there are healthy approaches that are constructive that can use this method, it potentially gets them to open up and then you as a helper can do the most important thing possible: listen.

However the public school system is the worst possible place for this type of child, the views and judgements of him in the minds of those around him are poisoning him, at this rate he will become a sociopath.

Nothing against you, I am sure you are a good smart person, or you would not have even started this thread, but since you do not understand him and your expectations are already tainted you are unlikely to be able to do anything but damage him further.

This is a defense mechanism.
He cares so much it frustrates him and he turns off.
He literally can't handle his emotions.

Does he have touch aversion?

There are actually a Small number of people with no empathy for anyone.
Psychopaths. Also Borderline Personality Disorder can be similar. The latter category can disturb and upset the psychologists trying to help them.
Stay away from this rare kind of person IMO, until a 'treatment' can be worked out.
Maybe entheogens, but IDK.

I agree.

But true sociopaths also tend to make friends very well, though they have trouble maintaining friendships in the long term.
They also have victims complexes, everything bad in their lives is perceived to be caused by others and they never take responsability for their own choices and actions. They also tend to be very rational, they rationalize everything and tend to think somewhat mathematically.

They also tend to learn to imitate normal people, but do not get good at this until early adulthood.

Dearest Un-Known_ome,
I have read this entire thread and I agree with the insights of Corpus Callosum, Albert K.Lloyd, and The Meddling Monk,
I earned a Master's in mental health counseling and I've dealt with my own issues in addition to a few yrs work in Psych hospitals and treatment centers.
As referred above, the label may be causing a self-fulfilling prophecy, also as referred above, if this IS a full blown personality disorder then you really cannot hope to steer him to mental health in only one year, NOT in that environment. Although personality disorders cannot really be diagnosed in youngsters and teens, it sounds like he is headed towards that condition.
Look up "antisocial personality disorder" in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for mental disorders,also research "Developmental Disorders" more geared towards youngsters and teens. From what I have heard Personality Disorders" are foundational, deep deep traits that can only be remedied by a year or two of breaking down the core personality and replacing it with a more "culturally accepted" model of behaviour. Boot Camp essentially, for a looong period of time in a highly structured environment.
In your position you are both hancuffed and saddled with this "problem"

In my opinion you would be better to focus on YOURSELF. Why are you so fused with this person? Is it affecting your own self esteem or mental/emotional well-being? If so it is YOU who could benefit by counseling, Perhaps start with the school cnslr ...ask her to refer you (since you suspect she may be tempted to "hit on you".

Explain to her that it would be a conflict of interest to be counseled by her (you can easily broach this topic in an honest way because you 2 are in a professional relationship already complicated by the school policies and mores). Then get a referral and talk to an MH Professional about how and WHY this kid has found a way to push YOUR buttons. The best you can do, in my opinion, is to GROW from this experience, After all there are 2 sides of the coin, You are in a hopeless situation if you derive your self worth from the outcome of this kid. You need to learn to keep a professional distance, it is a feature of most all of the mental health professionals I have met, including me, the ability to detach yourself professionally takes years. SO don't take my insights as a criticism.
After all I am detached from you but I feel emopathy for you. I just won't let it affect my own self regard.
Good luck
Spangles

I just want him to be alright, and if I can't do anything--which I suspect I can't--then so be it. I have no problem admitting to that. I was actually brought on board, as it turns out, to manage his behavior rather than improve it and make any appreciable gains. And if being outplaced would benefit him, then that's what I think should happen. Then again, there are children who have already committed heinous acts of malice by his age, so in that sense, his condition could be much worse.

I appreciate this forum for this excellent feedback. My expectations have been exceeded. Is it psychedelics themselves? or the sort of people that they attract? I suspect that it's a bit of both, but either way, I am truly grateful.

Actually, this student hasn't pushed my buttons, and I don't know if he can. They are very hard to push. Perhaps my language has hinted at that he has. I should hope that he doesn't try to do so, but I suspect that he might try to push me harder and harder. In some ways, he reminds me of myself, but he's missing a filter and suffers dearly from a lack of social intelligence. Everything I've said to this point is an honest account of what I have observed of this student. When I say that I don't particularly like him, it's not because of any psychological trauma that he's caused me. I'm simply saying that I have observed that he is not particularly compassionate to others, and that he is not very like-able as an individual. If we had been classmates ten some-odd years ago, I would not have been his friend. That being said, I do care about him and his well-being. I'm still holding out hope against hope that I can do something for him, but as I have learned from my experience with mentally-impaired students, sometimes there's nothing that can be done.

You know, I had a reality-check of a moment with him yesterday, after he had become belligerent in class and had to be removed. I was talking with him one-on-one in a no-nonsense kind of way about some of his actions, and I kept asking him the same questions and rejecting all of his smart-ass answers. And after interrogating him for fifteen minutes or so, he stopped replying and I could see that his expression had become somber and that he was on the verge of tears, and it was like: despite all of his antics, he's just a ten year old kid who doesn't stand a chance. And you know what the worst part of it is? Today, it was like it had never happened.

The boy is no different than my other side of my ego...
The point is... when you "get it", life becomes meaningless. He knows it, thats why he thinks he is so smart. You will get it once your expectations reach reality and you see nothing different than what you are shown. It is the thing that gives you that power to think that you can do anything in order to get what you want, and it really does. His case is not different than mine. Except maybe the childhood... mine was bad, but free, therefore kinda good. I was free enough to know what I want.
Ask him this: "Where is your soul?". I think this is the only thing that drives you away from it once you get it. Im still searching mine, imagining where it should be... Actually I know where it is, but its out of my reach in this world. Only the pieces of it are scattered around this world as the things I like, but I've never trully loved something... except for my friends. A true friend can reach you more than you think, that is the point of hiding yourself from reality, because you want someone to reach you... Once you find yourself on the top of the skyscraper of life, you should really believe that there is someone to throw you away from there...

I want to share my opinion that this is incredibly dangerous ideology that has the capacity to harm those who maintain it as a belief and it can lead people to harm those around them.

I think it is a sign of not "getting it" because one cannot or will not accept certain things about reality, which cannot be told or shown, but must be realized. This is only my opinion, but then the post above is also almost entirely opinion.

The smart ones know they don't get it, IMO, and never can or will, and that it really doesn't matter if you do, because nothing will change if you do or don't.

First..he has to trust and respect you...if you want him to listen to you..
He or she must be made to understand that you are a friend...
People who think they know more than anyone else.. are hard nuts to crack..!
We are all on programs learnt in life ...
Just like the Adam Kid ..who killed all those inocent children at ..[sandy hook school].. recently.. he was reported to like [violent video games..!
Not that everyone who plays these video games will become dangerous ...but it seemed to effect the sandy hook killer somehow..

There is also another posibility ..if there is any truth to a verse in the bible...

The king james version..[Psalm 139:16].. has been made easier to understand...below...

You saw me before I was born.. and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!" [Psalm 139:16].....

If this is true ..everyones book was written before they took their first breath of air..