Thanks everyone, I only just realized my post finally went through! Thanks for the welcome. I am very skeptical that it's PANDAS or a reaction to food/environment, because I did the same sort of thing as a child. It seems far more likely to me that it's the combination of going through a move (which entailed changing babysitters, and a range of other changes, including getting a dog) which goes to the emotional facet of Dabrowski's "supersensitivities in gifted children" ("problems adjusting to change") as well as the psychomotor facet ("nervous habits and tics"), which are all in addition to the many, many other qualities Dabrowski talked about and which I've observed. Her father and I have discussed and feel that she also needs more physical outlets for energy, so I've signed her up for a number of activities that I hope will mitigate this outpouring of nervous energy.
Anyway, it's comforting to hear others have experienced the same issues and have outgrown them (as I did). I'm trying to make sure there isn't something else I may have missed that she may need (for example, I didn't even think about providing her more physical activity until her father observed that the gestures would dissipate after a strong action).
