In the meantime let's talk about what- if anything- you can do at home to encourage your DS7 to loosen up when the situation calls for it....
If you give us some details of where your son tends to get overly perfectionistic, I'll throw out some possible ideas.
Thanks, Grinity. That's a very generous offer. Here's one example:
DS7: What does x mean?
Me: What do YOU think it means?
DS7: I'm not sure.
Me: Want to guess?
DS7: I don't want to be wrong.
Me: But you might be right. And if you're not right, that's OK. It's smart to ask or look a word up when you're not sure. Nobody is born knowing what every word means.
DS7: Can I whisper it to you? (even if nobody else is around, he'll frequently say that)
Me: Sure.
DS7 whispers his answer in my ear, which is right much of the time.
If he's not correct, I'll say something like, "I can understand how it would seem like x means y, because it sounds like such-and-such (or whatever)." I'll either tell him then what x means or suggest we look it up in the dictionary.
ETA: If anyone else were around, or if DS were at school, he's very unlikely even to venture a guess unless he's certain about something. He says he can tell
me anything, but even with me somehow it's safer to whisper....
