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Bookworm 03:01 PM 08-13-2012
This is another thing that I haven't seen before. I have a DCB-4 who cannot make a decision about anything without having a total meltdown. I mean to the point where he is on the floor screaming his head off saying he doesn't know what to do. It starts as soon as he gets to school. He comes in smiling and happy but when Mom leaves, it begins. "I don't know what center to go to". When he finally picks a center, "I don't know what toy to play with". If more than one child asked to play with him, "I dont know who to play with". Even something as simple as "Do you want chocolate milk" causes a total meltdown.

I have talked to both parents about this and they said it happens at home as well. At home, it's so bad that when he's about to have a meltdown, he just goes to his room and screams there. They don't know what to do. I told them that I don't want to tell him what to do every minute of the day because I want him to learn to make his own decisions and to learn from any wrong choices he makes. They totally agree. Where we at a lost is what can we do to stop this.

He also has no problem solving skills at all. Anytime he runs into a "road block", he has a meltdown. Prime example: When it is time for snack, I ask the children to go to their chairs when they finish washing up. If his chair isn't at the table, he will have a meltdown crying that his chair is not at the table. I ask him, "Well, what should you do"? This immediately makes the situation worse because he will go into full on tantrum because he doesn't know what to do. It's not like we don't go through this every single day. Even during storytime, if I ask "What should So and So done differently in the story" he freaks out because he simply cannot decide on another option. Even lunch is a problem.

I have a consistent schedule so it's not a free for all where there is something different everyday. I just can't understand it. I've been doing childcare for almost 20 yrs and I have never seen this. Thanks in advance for your advice.
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