I often wonder about both ADHD and Aspeger's, or at least the mild form of both and whether healthcare professionals are just turning some very mature behaviors into symptoms of something off. Maybe the problem is that the gifted kids have a stronger sense of self than the others. They are not going to be motivated by grades if they consider that meaningless.
I don't know about anyone else here, but I often feel like my 6 and 7 year olds are going through their teenage years right now. They are already questioning everything, already have their own opinions and don't want to do things I ask them to do just because I say so, and balk against doing chores when they don't want to. My youngest would also be a video game addict if I let him. In other words, I see the components listed as something I would expect in teenagers, but maybe not 6 or 7 year olds. In which case what I'm seeing is a sign of maturity rather than otherwise.
Just a final thought:
My ds6 is diagnosed ADHD. I went to El Salvador to visit family for a week and stayed with my aunt, who had three ADHD sons out of five children. She watched him, and told me in very insulted tones that DS6 is not ADHD. He is very bright and enthusiastic, but her sons would never have been able to have the sustained attention that he can have when it comes to tasks he is interested in.
In El Salvador, no one thought anything about either of my kids. My uncles gave me some advice as to how to redirect my DS7, and took my DS6 under his wing and helped him work in the wood workshop. There was no feeling that the kids were different from other kids. It was extremely refreshing.
