Oh, and one more piece of information: when my son has these emotional outbursts, he initially seems angry, and then it quickly evolves into uncontrollable sobbing. He often makes statements about being stupid or things being too hard. When he's having the meltdown, he describes the feeling this way: difficulty breathing b/c he's holding his breath to try to hold it in, rapid heart beat, feels like he's losing control, his words: "feels like a balloon that is getting too much air and it keeps getting bigger and bigger; the air is pushing against the sides until if finally explodes".
The doctor (developmental-behavioral pediatrician) is concerned that it could be anxiety attacks? She suspects possible Generalized Anxiety Disorder in conjunction with ADHD (and giftedness). She does specialize in treating gifted children with ADHD. After I meet with her tomorrow, she might attribute this to the giftedness, but I could still see her wanting to try another medication in addition to the stimulant. I get the impression that her philosophy is that it doesn't always matter what it's called; what matters is what you can do to help the child feel/perform better.
