Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ideas for helping with processing speed?

Geofizz,

I will try to channel your good neuropsych attitude.
:-)

Mine comes from many bits of sloppiness (won't go into that here) and slowness along the way, an inability to explain some of the test results, and the strong feeling that this particular neuropsych person was more interested in her pay than in my son. But anyway, I take your point--and thanks for it, because my irritation is not productive.

I hope Polarbear chimes back in! I also was hugely impressed by her knowledge about all of this.

If processing speed is literally how long it takes for someone to think, no--I don't think my son is in the 5th percentile (which is what the combination of the coding and symbol search scores work out to), though I do think he is not a quick processer. He more closely matches your description of your daughter ("she can work out multi-step math problems in her head, but it takes so long that I often wonder if she's forgotten the problem or decided she's not going to work on it") than your son, though maybe he doesn't take quite that long. He definitely does not take long to form a verbal response once he's got an answer. Actually, not a written one either, if it's math.

Back to those kindergarten scores--he got 25th-50th percentile scores on rapid-naming tests, which I believe also indicate processing speed.

If he is perfectionistic or anxious, it is manifesting as something different. (Ie., "This is boring.") He comes off as extremely confident--and in generally, he's a strikingly cheerful kid. He recovers quickly from setbacks/disappointments and moves on--so neither of those descriptors rings particularly true. He seems quite committed to being a happy guy--if anything, he has a knack for denying things that bother him. Ie., "I can see that you're sad." "I am NOT SAD" (with tears in his eyes). But mostly, he lives in a pretty content place.