Okay, I have a dcb who will be 5 in the fall. He has been with me since he was two. I honestly LOVE this kid, and on his good days, he's so loving and really really funny. BUT...with that being said, there's something that just doesn't seem right. When he first started, he had never been anywhere but home, and all his parents did was put him in front of the TV. They even went so far as to tell me that everything he knew came from the shows he watched (Sesame Street, Thomas the Train, that sort of thing...). That in itself proved to me that he NEEDED to be in a child care setting, and I wanted to do everything I could to help. He started at my daycare, and had a bit of a hard time adjusting, except when his cousin was there, and he LOVED being with him. But when something didn't go right, he screamed...not just a screaming little kid who wanted to get his way, it was like he was in extreme pain. He literally scared some of the kids I had in my care. After a few months, he quit that, and just threw fits occasionally. When we had class pictures last year, I waited until very last to get him. And he threw a fit in which he slammed his head into the wall repeatedly. Needless to say, he didn't get his picture made last year. He had fits like this occasionally, usually when the schedule got messed up. He never wanted to be touched, he always played alone, and when he picked toys up, he'd get them by the handful and then rub them together making them all fall to the floor. When his mom was around, she'd say that she acted just like him when she was little, so we never questioned anything. In the past year, dcb has improved GREATLY. I had chalked up his past behavior to being babysat by the TV, immaturity, and just being spoiled. We had class pictures a couple months ago, and his pictures are some of the absolute cutest of anyone's in the daycare. He LOVES being in front of a camera now, he hugs, tries to kiss, and is a very smart boy. He knows all the months, all the days of the week, all the coins & what they're worth, all the shapes and colors, how to spell his name and others' names, he can do 100 piece puzzles with no help at all, and he looks at books and spells words and tries to figure out what they say by sounding them out....BUT he's a complete loner. He never ever ever wants to play with anyone but himself. He gets cars, and as he's rolling them on the floor, he lays his head down and drags his head across the floor with the car, watching the wheels. He can't draw anything, he simply scribbles and says he makes a racetrack, EVERY SINGLE TIME. He wants to watch TV or be in the computer center all the time, and here lately when anyone tells him to do anything he yells, says "YOU'RE NOT MY BEST FRIEND!!" and sits himself down. I have completely taken the computer center out, because he never did anything but that. I have reduced TV time to be on only when children arrive in the mornings (it gets their attention away from their parents so they can leave). I have encouraged him to play with other kids, but he doesn't seem to know how. He has his days where all he wants to do is puzzles, which is great sometimes, but he needs to be social, doesn't he??? He would LOVE to sleep all day long, and begs to go to bed early, which we allow within reason. He will sleep until he is woken up, sometimes up to almost 4 hours. (The next longest nap is 2.5 hours, and that's a one year old!) His mom is a nurse, and thinks all of his behavior is normal, or so she says. I have had three visitors come in the past three weeks, and every one of them have asked if something is wrong with him. I always say no, just because I don't feel like it's their place to know my opinion of him!! He is very behind in his speech, and is not going to school this fall. He is very very tall for his age, and is HUGE compared to the kids who will be going to school with him next year. I feel like we have helped him a lot with his development, and I would never think of terminating him because I do love him, and he is not harming anyone else, he's just different. I have looked online to see if there are any specific disorders that he may have, but I can't decide...I am not even going to name the ones that are possibilities. I want some opinions. Do you guys think there is something wrong, or is he really a "normal" kid?? I have other four year olds who don't act like this, and never have, but I know every kid is different, so I don't know what to do. Anyway, from the info I have given, what do you think it could be?? Is there something more than just a slow developing child, or am I worrying about something I shouldn't? Thanks in advance...

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