MelissaN, I sympathize! I have a similar struggle with DD9, also 3rd grade. We've been dealing with escalating extreme emotions and issues with attention and hyperactivity for the past 1.5 years. We just had her evaluated at our local children's hospital by a developmental psych. She scored on the fringe of gifted on the WISC-V and was also identified as having depression and anxiety and other specified ADHD. When I met with the psych for a follow up she seemed to run with the label of "gifted" and gave us a bunch of 2E info. Reading the descriptions of emotional and behavioral characteristics of gifted children resonated with me, but her scores made me question the label. I had a follow up call with her this morning to clarify and she told me that she felt confident in characterizing her as gifted. Apparently DD was so nervous she was shaking during the first few areas of the WISC and she had a bad cold. The examiner felt like her scores were not reflective of her full potential. DD also was just accepted into the schools GT program.
Anyway, long story short, has anyone recommended Occupational Therapy for sensory regulation? This was one of the recommendations for DD9. As a BCBA, I'm a bit skeptical, but I'm definitely going to pursue OT before trying medication. I'm also not opposed to trying medication. DD is currently seeing a therapist and is using CBT to address anxiety and negative self talk. We were told to give it two months and then consider medication, but I may wait to see if the increased academic challenge next year has a positive impact.
