Here's our personal experience with OE & GT:
Until I read this forum and did extra investigations on the web, I did not realize OE was a common occurrence in GT kids. My GS8 exhibits all 5 of the categories. When we got custody 3 years ago the OE's were out of control. I assumed his behavior was due to the abuse he had suffered. But, I had had him enough before the abuse to know he was highly sensitive, emotional, imaginative, and very high energy.
I am not making excuses for GS8's stepmother's behavior, but she just couldn't cope with a kid with this kind of personality characteristics. If you think all children should be and can be trained to be calm & compliant, then an OE GT will leave feeling like a failure. Everything was so intense for GS8, and trying to force normal reactions made things worse for him.
Up until this year we have focused on toning down some of the OE behaviors at school. I have observed him in the school and see he behaves well enough to play well with others and be an active participant in the classroom. Sometimes he's still TOO active of a participant, and he likes to test boundaries, but overall he's made a lot of progress. That said, he is obviously different than his classmates, and the expression of the OE's is one of those differences.
Here are some of the good things about OE's --
He is extremely sensitive about other's welfare and gives part of his money and produce from his garden to charity.
His high energy level is not a problem if he gets plenty of outdoor exercise, living on the farm and taking care of his calves solves that problem.
The library, internet, and extracurricular activites keep him intellectually engaged. We can get a bit tired of all the knowledge he *needs* to share, but we have tons of relatives and friends who are willing to listen to him, too.
His sensual OE has presented the most problems, I'll leave it at that.
And best of all, his imaginational OE is a wonder. His best friend "Jakelo" has been with him through thick & thin. "Jakelo" has seemed so real that at times I've wondered if he was GS8's guardian angel in a form only GS8 could see. Sorting out some of the other facts & fiction had to be done carefully since some fiction was presented as fact to protect his ego.
The part about emotional OE that still has me concerned is how much it can look like rapid cycling bipolar disorder. GS8's kindergarten teacher even commented about how his emotional mood swings looked like bipolar.
