Thanks for the recommendations! I will definitely look into them. I don't know if clothes chewing/sucking is related to perfectionism, it's just that both things are driving me crazy.
Here is an example. He is doing a dictation. Granted, it is a difficult one with lots of dialogue. I show it to him beforehand, we discuss it, etc. I give the dictation. This is from Bravewriter. He keeps asking if there is a quotation or if the em dash is inside or outside the quotations etc. I answer his questions. At one point, all the kids are talking at once and DS asks a question and I just tell him to use his best judgement and we'll correct at the end. Then the wailing, high-pitched scream, tears starts. Then he starts blabbering about how he hates to get things wrong and why can't I just tell him so that he doesn't get it wrong. I try to calmly explain to him that part of learning is getting things wrong. Everyone gets something wrong everyday. This happens every single day - especially about math. He will completely shut down if he gets a problem wrong. At times he is so upset I have to send him to his room to calm down. For the first time he has hit something that he didn't get instantly....the standard algorithm for multi-digit multiplication and I think this has been the catalyst for all this behavior getting worse. It's always been there but has been much worse the past few months. Once he calms down, he gets the answer so the material is not too far above him.
Dazey
