Processing speed is particularly important to fluent written expression and automaticity in calculating. Fourth grade in many schools marks the transition to a significant increase in expectations for lengthy or analytical writing and math problem solving (which is much easier to do if one is not bogged down with calculations that should be automatic, like multiplication facts). Is it possible that the behaviors are symptomatic of difficulty meeting academic expectations, not necessarily because of intellectual reasons, but because of learning difference reasons?
My daughter is a fluent writer, with good handwriting. She is a poor speller, and can spell the same word wrong more than one way on the same page. However, she is still one of the better spellers in her class, so maybe standards are just low these days.
In math, she does have to work a bit harder. Multiplication tables do not come naturally, and she makes some mistakes. Even her better IQ score does not have her as HG, so I'm not sure what level of math performance is normal for a bright/MG child and what is a processing issue.
I do not know about underperforming. Most of her attention issues come from executive function--she has difficulty staying on task for undesirable or tedious tasks.
I do think there's a 2e situation, but the evaluator diagnosed General Anxiety Disorder and not ADHD. She was very distracted (as low as the 4th percentile) on the PIA, but because she still answered accurately in about the 50th percentile, he said no to the diagnosis.
