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What Is a 'Slow Processing Speed?'

Q:

"Our son is bright, but an educational assessment found that he has a 'slow processing speed.' What does that mean?"

A:

It means that he takes a bit longer than other kids his age to make sense of the information he takes in. He might have trouble assimilating written or spoken information, or take longer to answer questions or finish tests. This is not a matter of intelligence, as you know, but it does make it hard for him to demonstrate his knowledge.

The school psychologist or therapist who assessed your son should be able to recommend specific accommodations—extra time on tests, shortened homework assignments, getting written as well as spoken instructions, and so on. Bear in mind that processing deficits like your son’s tend to be primarily auditory or primarily visual. Thus, the challenges he’ll face—and the interventions that will prove most helpful—are determined by the specific nature of his problem.

Dr. Clare Jones was an educational consultant in Scottsdale, Arizona, respected throughout the psychological community for her work with ADHD children and adults. She passed away in late 2006 and is truly missed.

4 Comments:

  • Posted by tuxfan - Jun 20 2008 @ 2:15 PM
    Slow Processing Speed
    cuboidal13, I'm exactly the same! I take about an hour for 10 pages too. Is it inattentive ADD or something else?
  • Posted by cuboidal13 - May 22 2008 @ 2:58 PM
    Slow Processing Speed
    I have lived with this my whole life, when I read it takes me an hour to read 10 pages but when I am done, as opposed to other people, I remember the whole book. I am having a prblem now because I want to take the LSAT but do not have enough time to do so. I know the information better than anyone but I need to prove myself on the test first. Can Anyone help me with this?
  • Posted by conmom - Apr 22 2008 @ 12:59 PM
    Slow Processing Speed
    I thought that I was alone on this one. Is there anything that can be done with the slow processing speed? My son is in 6th grade and some friends are starting to point it out to him. I get frustrated with him -- I really can't expect 12 year olds to be so patient. Is there something that can help him with this?
  • Posted by Ahorner - Apr 16 2008 @ 11:06 AM
    Slow prosessing speed medicine
    My son has ADD but he has the inattentive ADD he also has a slow processing speed. He is on vyvanse which works good for add but the needs something for his processing speed. We are having trouble getting his medicine right. Does anyone have any suggestions I can suggest to his Dr. that have worked. It all seems to be trial and error.
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