We just had our DS7 tested on the WISC IV. He scored consistently in the 137- 139 range in VCI, PRI and WM ( a few points lower), but his Processing Speed was even higher, which brought up his FSIQ to 140.
What Aculady said - rarity brought the scores up - Even 137-139 are very unusually high scores. High enough that he's possibly be bored in a room that only contained the top 5% of kids his age. I think his speedy nature caused the fast score, but his unusual abilities are causing his frustration. Then he responds to his frustration by being extra speedy.
Is this racing though everything related to the processing speed?
I thin his natural speed is being positively reinforced by his environment. It's likely that every minute of school where he isn't learning (that is, almost every minute) is painful for him. So when he races, he shortens the amount of time he has to feel the pain. If you want him to learn the benifits of slowing down, change the dynamic of the environment by placing him somewhere where their is some kind of real downside to racing. A great example is Aleks.com. My son learned to check his work without a word from me. If he got three answers right in a row - he got new learning material (a big positive reinforcer), if he skipped checking his work, then he was unlikely to get 3 in a row correct, and he got MOTS (more of the same)problems to 'practice' even though he totally understood the procedure: the 'Artificial Stupidity' of the computer was a great tool. It didn't care if he 'got the idea' or not, it just wanted 3 right answers in a row! - MOTS was, for him, a hugely negative reinforcer.
The mental gymnastics his brain can do can be incredible, yet he sometimes still needs help getting dressed (he's in 2nd grade!), is this typical?
How much help, how often, under what circumstances? What does he 'get' out of getting dressed independently? What does he 'get' out of acting in ways that signal to you that he needs help? How is his gross motor and fine motor under other circumstances? Does he enjoy kickball and other physical activities that are popular locally with kids his age? I think it can be typical, but my son is 15 now and I can't remember!
One key to remember is that if you look at life from a Behaviorist point of view, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Our kids are unusual in lots of ways, and one way is that they have their own unique experience of life. Some things that others experience as positive (getting praised for doing easy school work) are pure poison to our kids, and other things that other kids experience as a negative reinforcer (the attention and recognition and excitement that go along with being critisised or punished) are sometimes experienced as a postivie reinforcer. The only way to know is to pretend you are an anthropologist from another planet and observe, will a child 'work' for this outcome? Will that 'supposedly negative' outcome decrease the frequency of the behavior that is associated with it?
Eleanor - Clear your mind of what you suppose must be so and observe your son. See what he will work for, and what he learns to avoid. Then you will be able to set up environments where he gets rewarded for growing behaviors.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
