Interesting that you brought up the learnt underachievement. That is something the tester we are going to use this summer suggested could be the cause of her faltering trajectory around the time she entered pre-k at age 3.
Now whether or not that is the cause of her temper tantrums and behavior I'm not sure. She is definitely an intense child at times. She hurt her sister again yesterday when they were arguing. I am at a loss as to how to punish her for this b/c sending her to her room and apologizing for her actions doesn't seem to be doing anything. And she isn't using the code word we came up with for when she is angry or frustrated.
And her night terrors and sleepwalking are picking up speed and happening every night again. It's not as bad as last fall when it was 2+ times a night, but still exhausting for me. I think it has to do with the bugs she has been so interested in learning about lately as she will sometimes talk about bugs during her terrors/sleepwalking. She never remembers but she is anxious about going to sleep and says she feels bugs crawling on her or that she's worried there are bugs in her room. Yet she won't stop reading the bug books, hunting for bugs, or playing with her pet click beetle.
Feeling bugs crawling on your skin is a neurological symptom called "formication". In combination with other neurological symptoms such as night terrors and sleepwalking, and with the irritability and outbursts, you might want to consider getting a referral for a neuro consult from your pediatrician.
Not every problem gifted children experience is due to giftedness.
