Honestly, she does not seem to work slowly but is very much a perfectionist. This seems to not only impact school work but also piano, art, dance etc.. That being said, she told me that she got in trouble the week before her testing for careless errors on a speed drill because she worked too quickly. I did emphasize that she should do her best on the testing so I wonder if she just sacrificed speed for accuracy. Also, speed has not been an issue that her teacher has noticed; the perfectionism is a different story;)! All of this is just a little new to me, I have never really thought of her as gifted but when I reflect on milestones some of them she did meet very early. Although, I am more concerned that she seems to be a different person at school. She won't discuss any of the things that she does very well at home with her friends. For instance, she knows more about animals than anyone I know but even when they were discussing animals in science she would not contribute information, so I think she may act differently to get along with peers.
I've heard that's common in girls especially--to mold to fit in.
Regarding the perfectionism, our tester noted perfectionism as the reason for his slower PSI, and we could certainly see that tendency and see its affect on ds's willingness to take risks. That said, he's also slow at computation. It comes from a need to be meticulous rather than not understanding the material or knowing the facts.
So last year we tried a couple of things, the first being challenging him to do a test he wasn't expected to do well on: the Explore. This was an above level test meant for 8th graders which he took in the fifth grade. He had a great experience. The other thing we did was agree to grade-skip him, again stressing to him that the most important thing is the challenge of it. If he got a B and it was clear that it was because he was being challenged, than we celebrated (getting a B was a horror to him) and now, though the perfectionism is still there, it has lessened its hold. It's wonderful to witness.
