Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy How to help a child improve low processing speed?

My child (8 years old) has a low processing speed compared to all his other scores - a 1 SD difference. This impacts him when he is required to write detailed answers to questions at school and when he is asked to write essays. He says that it took him "too long to think". At school, he gets anxious during timed tests where he has to write detailed answers - most commonly in science and literature where there are questions like "why do you think so?" and "what is your opinion or conclusion?". When it is untimed and the setting is one-on-one, he comes up with very well thought out answers. But, in school he is known to panic and write any thought that pops up in his mind just to finish these tests.
I asked him if it was OK for me to ask for accommodations - and he refuses because he is sensitive to being different from other kids. I am wondering how I can help him improve his processing speed if at all possible. Some things that we have done that have impacted this issue in a positive way are: math fact automaticity, lots of handwriting practice, musical training (sight reading, using metronomes etc). He does not struggle in math to finish on time. But, he does struggle when the writing requirements are high. TIA!

DD's slow processing is related to ADHD/executive dysfunction and stimulant medication seems to help (although it doesn't bring it to normal). I really don't think there is anything that fixes the underlying processing issue, and it's more helpful to teach specific skills and to focus on accommodations/modifications (like use a graphic organizer to write, have a reduced number of math problems, use a calculator as warranted, etc).

I know there are many sources of slow processing speed. But if PS is related to executive function, and EF is governed by the prefrontal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex is later developing in higher gifted kids - then does time help? Is the answer different if ADHD is part of the picture?

I feel like I'm tugging on a tangle of christmas tree lights.

Suevv I get it- I totally have the tangled christmas tree lights thing going on too.

Ashley I tried to do some kind of computer program (Jungle Memory) that was supposed to help processing speed, all it did for my son was freak him out, give him anxiety and lower his morale.. wish I could give you something helpful.

DS8 also has slow PS, at least it's low relative to his other scores! We are looking for answers, too.

One thing the psych said to try was have him work on things that don't come easily to him. Like maybe a sport that he likes but doesn't play well yet.

ashley - did the math facts automaticity help? DS can do math, up to some division, unless you put a timer on him, then he simply can't do it. He did seem to improve some last year when we made him do the same drills as in school every night, but I worried that it would burn him out...

Those sound like advanced questions for an 8 year old. It might be an idea to check he isn't over thinking his answers as they may expect something much simpler than he thinks.

Thank you all. I sort of knew what to expect when I asked the question, but just wanted to see what others in my position had done.

DS does not have ADHD but his EF was low at around age 5, but has improved by leaps and bounds in the last year.

LAF and Mr and Mrs P: we used a math program where the rescue of a character in distress depended on timed math facts and there was absolute meltdown, distress and anxiety because of being very sensitive and being timed. So, we did a lot of very old fashioned drilling using paper and pencil. I am happy to report that math anxiety is gone - he can finish most tests (he is grade accelerated) ahead of his class mates. So, the automaticity helped a lot - we did multiplication and division facts before we started seeing improvement of speed.

puffin: in literature tests he is given a passage from the book they had read and discussed all week long (e.g. Winnie the Pooh) and then asked "why do you think that Pooh said xyz in the passage above"? I think that these questions are not too advanced. But, as you say, he might be overthinking because he is a perfectionist.

These questions are open and vague. One could write pages upon pages in response, and the questions would still not be fully answered. I imagine your son will answer perfectly precise questions much more swiftly—exactly what he does in math.

For open and vague questions, offer a word limit (e.g., between 400 and 600 words), and let your son respond at his own pace. The focus is on keeping his response within the word limit. This will let him practice writing at different levels of detail. Once he gets the hang of it, introduce a loose time limit; the idea is to allow him to become comfortable with working under a time limit. Once he does this comfortably, tighten the time limit for more practice.

I do not think the questions are too advanced for him; rather, I think his thinking is too advanced for the questions as they were intended.

I would consider that perhaps what is happening when he is trying to write specific types of assignments isn't related to his processing speed index on the WISC. The WISC subtests require quick visual scanning and fine motor marks, but they aren't asking a student to answer open-ended abstract questions, which is what appears to be the challenge for your ds.


A few thoughts here - first is: he's 8. It's quite possible that he's just developmentally not quite where his writing ability has caught up with his thinking ability. At 8 in most schools (even in gifted programs) scaffolding is provided around writing assignments *when specific types of writing are expected*, either through graphic organizers or very specific descriptions of what to write. Our kids also had open-ended assignments that were focused on creative writing (story-telling). I volunteered in my ds' 3rd grade classroom during creative writing time where kids were turned loose to write about whatever they wanted to, and some students were able to write easily, others needed quite a bit of help.


My ds has a disability and needs accommodations. He also didn't want them in elementary school (and even later on) because he didn't want to look different than anybody else. We were able to get him to use accommodations because we first tried them out at home and he saw that they made it possible for him to do things that previously had been extremely difficult. So if you have an idea, try it out at home. Another thing that worked with us was putting our ds in a situation where he wasn't the only child using the accommodation or where it wasn't obvious he was using an accommodation in a way that was different from other students. For instance, his 4th grade class had alpha-smarts (which I'm sure are so outdated at this point in time no one here would know what they are lol!)... there weren't enough for all of the students, so students could sign up and use them during writing time. The other students didn't know it, but my ds had first priority and could always use an alphasmart whether or not other students were waiting for one.

The thing that's helpful putting together accommodations though is thinking through and understanding what the real issue is.

One thing I'd suggest that might help is to talk him through open-ended questions or rephrase them in a way that isn't as open-ended. For instance:

"why do you think so?" - could be rephrased as "list 3 reasons the bubble burst"

Rather than spend time trying to figure out how to increase processing speed at the moment, I'd focus on spending time at home (or volunteering in school during writing sessions if you can or want too), working with him on what to write. Scaffold for him. Break down his assignments. Talk him through them. Have him use graphic organizers if it helps. If you think the physical act of handwriting is slowing him down let him scribe to you at home and see if it makes a difference.

Last thing I'll note - volunteering in the classroom in 3rd grade really helped me not only in seeing what my ds' challenges were but also in seeing what the level of the other students' writing ability was. It's just a guess on my part so please ignore if you want to, but I'm guessing that your ds is not the only student in his class who is not giving detailed answers to open-ended questions at this point, and that maturity and practice are going to make a difference for him. If this is the case, I'd consider trying to let him know it's ok if he doesn't know what to say for now or can't come up with the fully detailed answer he might be thinking he needs to provide, and see if that helps alleviate his anxiety.

Best wishes,

polarbear