Werewoman,

Thank you so much! This actually helped a ton. It's nice to know that at the end of a hard day there are people who understand my position.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure she's never seen a psychiatrist. At one point she told me she was dyslexic, and I asked her if her doctor gave her that diagnosis. Her reply was "You can see a doctor for that?" (she doesn't seem dyslexic btw but it's not like I'm an expert). She seems very manipulative and I want to talk to her family about it, but I have no idea how they'll react. For all I know, they'll get personally offended and fire me, thus keeping this girl from getting the educational help she needs.

Thanks for the ideas. I'm going to try Uno or Scrabble next time I see her, though I am apprehensive because I'm pretty convinced she'll make sure it's all she does while we're at the library. But I do think you're right in that it's influential towards her progress.

Ugh, I know what you mean. I tried really hard to be stern today. We worked on her sign language skills - she's not deaf but she really wants to learn - and I tried to teach her how to write at the level that's appropriate for her age and how to neaten her handwriting. The writing bit took over an hour to do! She kept wanting me to go buy her snacks, to go somewhere else in the library, kept distracting herself by swiveling around in the chair, etc. At one point she flat out hid underneath the table and firmly told me that no, she would not do any work and that I couldn't make her. She didn't start to behave until I said I would stop working with her indefinitely until she changed her attitude, but even that was a battle. I feel so war-torn. At one point, she even put a used band-aid on her worksheet so that I would have to throw it away. She is well-versed in avoidance.

No, she can get up to the second floor just fine, but she takes her time going up the stairs, crossing the bridge to the kids section, and riding elevators. One flight of stairs alone can take ten minutes. When she's in a hurry or excited, she goes through these obstacles without any problems. It's only when we have a plan for work in mind does she remember her fears. However, it helps if I hold her hand and talk her through the fears - then she clears up immediately.

I'm sorry you have to go through that. I expect to go through similar things soon; it turns out there are a lot of kids in my area with mental disorders who need tutoring. I'm supposed to have a trial day with a child with Aspergers in the next couple of weeks. If I can remain calm, stern, and still manage to help them, it'll be worth it. I want to be that one person that a kid knows will never walk away because things became difficult.

Thanks again for everything! It's much appreciated.