It is possible achievement is lower due to exposure and interest. He did go to preschool and we have always read at home. But he was never interested in learning to read and we have never jump started a skill (preferring to wait until it is introduced to same-age peers).
But, the lower processing speed does seem to mean something.
As far as strengths: he is a very verbal kid. He would create very funny riddles and word plays as a 3 and 4 year old. When 5 he was really into words with multiple meanings and now creates puns (i think thats what he does...ha!) constantly. He remembers everything and learns concepts super quick...and connects dots very easily...a big picture thinker for a six-year old...he is decently creative...and loves living in pretend worlds, playing Legos and Minecraft. He loves to illustrate stories in great detail, as well. He is a very hard worker, rule follower, and people pleaser. Academically he is great with sight words, comprehension, science, and math facts. He is good with mental math, fluency, addition/subtraction.
Weaknesses: He loathes writing. He is a 33 week preemie so we thought it a fine motor skill issue for a long time. He loathes the process of writing...figuring out what to put in the paper and most importantly spelling. He gives up very easily if anything is hard and always has...things that seemed hard for him included reading, writing and numbers. Once a foundation is created (like when he learned his sight words and built up some decoding skills) he is no linger resistant. But introducing a new process seems to be the hang up for him...this reading a book like Life of Fred is a lot of fun for him...or reading about the weather, or making snap circuits...learning how to ell time...excruciatingly painful.
Does that help?
