I look through the forum every day though I haven't posted in over a year, but when I saw this thread on OE, I had to check it out. We deal with OE with our DS (turned 10 YO today!!) and have forever. Rather than any decline, we have simply noticed an evolution to cope with either being made fun of by other kids or having people ask us if he's "okay". He can listen to multiple sources of noise (TV/conversation/whatever) and play video games or read at the same time, not seeming to pay any attention until we hear a comment from him about something we have said. He jumps around and his hands or fingers move constantly. We've had teachers ask us if we've taken him to the doctor or if there's something wrong with him. He has used stress balls and has also been allowed to stand during class - both of which have helped him a bit. It happens mostly when he's either learning something new or imagining some machinery or video game that he wants to invent. We have given him a journal to use when he wakes up at night and that has also seemed to help because he can write down his ideas and thoughts and then it's easier to go back to sleep. We bought him a snare drum when he was 4 and when he plays, that calms him down as well (but it's LOUD). It does give DH and me some much-needed alone time. I don't know if any of this is helpful, but we felt totally overwhelmed when he was younger, and we thought there was "something wrong" with him - which, of course, turned out to be that he is gifted. It doesn't make it any easier, but at least there are others out there dealing with the same issues!
