We aren't yet sure what to do about math. On the one hand, letting her back away from an (appropriate) challenge may act as a reinforcer for "you're right-- you ARE incompetent," at this point, any grade she earns in the course isn't going to make the situation any better. Then again, even the A+'s she's earning aren't making her feel any better, either.
My gut says that the only "right" thing here is to keep tabs on her, keep SUPPORTING her through the course with extra help and interaction, and send her the message that she is capable.
Oddly, I feel better about the situation having figured out the underlying problem. I mean, yes we need professional help. Definitely.
Now, though, we know that we need to be moving her away from activities which are about "judging" and "scores/grades" into mastery activities that are non-competitive in nature.
We also finally have some insight into why no method of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation has ever seemed to work for her for any length of time. She's impervious to punishment or rewards.
I have to say thank you in particular to Grinity for pointing me (gently) at perfectionism early on, here. It wasn't until I started listening and looking at the evidence (and there's a mountain of it) that I thought to look harder at the ways that perfectionism can manifest.
