DC has such and such concerning presentations (emotional dysregulation, sensory defensiveness, perfectionism);
Does this really indicate a 2nd e?
If so, then I need to get my DD evaluated post haste!
I had thought that these OE's were 'normal' and a natural consequence of intensity.
Grin. It depends on how it impacts function.
I would add one thing to Portia's note - with young, gifted children, it's easy to find things related to giftedness to suspect as a cause for intense behaviors/etc - and as parents we like to see the things that are wonderful about our children as opposed to seeing a behavior as a symptom of something that might be a challenge. This happened to *me* in a big way - when our ds was young we thought he wasn't writing, for example, because we thought he was a perfectionist. It never occurred to me that a child who was so clearly advanced in verbal language would have any academic or other challenges. As he moved into 2nd grade in school, his unrecognized 2e challenges caused him to have behavior issues that we again, as parents, thought had to be due to boredom since it was so clear to us that he was intellectually way beyond 2nd grade.
madeinuk, your dd has been very successful at school and you've never suspected anything 2e - so chances are there is nothing going on that is in the slightest bit 2e with her. The OP, however, has concerns and has a younger child. I would trust my gut instincts as a parent if I felt at all concerned that there might be something more going on than "gifted overexcitabilities" - especially if I saw the challenges as impacting my child's happiness or ability to function.
I'll also add - it's not impossible for 2nd e's to slip by undetected until middle school, high school, or even adulthood. We've seen that happen in my family, and I've seen it happen with a few adult friends too. The frustrating thing about that with the people I've known well who've experienced it is, they experienced frustration and unhappiness for quite a bit of their lives until finally getting a diagnosis. If a parent suspects a challenge when their child is young, absolutely get an eval and check it out - if nothing is found, the eval was still worth pursuing!
Best wishes,
polarbear
