Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy very fast processing speed

I am not sure if there is any correlation between processing speed and ADHD. MY DS9 is gifted and has adhd. I think you can be fast and not get things right or you can be fast and process things quickly and get things right. If that makes sense. Over all my son is fast and gets things right. However, his standardized testing isn't always consistant. They are always good but some are really good and some are just good if that makes sense. I think this is because of his ADHD not because he isn't processing well. Who knows its always a quesss. Below is a something I pulled from an ADHD / gifted book that I thought was interesting.


One characteristic of ADHD that does not have a counterpart in children who are gifted is variability of task performance. In almost every setting, children with ADHD tend to be highly inconsistent in the quality of their performance (i.e., grades, chores) and the amount of time used to accomplish tasks (Barkley, 1990). Children who are gifted routinely maintain consistent efforts and high grades in classes when they like the teacher and are intellectually challenged, although they may resist some aspects of the work, particularly repetition of tasks perceived as dull.


Good book though if you want more information on ADHD/gifted versus just adhd kids and just gifted kids is Different Minds by Deirdre V. Lovecky.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. Everything she writes about Gifted/ADHD just screams of my DS. It's like she followed him around, lol.

I currently have it signed out from our local library but have also added it to my Amazon shopping cart...

I love the book as well! It is right on for my DS9 too. It has been so nice to be able to read and better understand my son through this book. It has also explained many things that I see and have seen in testing and everday activity from him. I first purchased on my kindle but then decided to order from amazon so I could have a hard copy and highlight the pieces I wanted to. Just read it over last couple months. I wish I would have known about it about 2 or 3 years ago but better late then never.

I had fast processing speed as a kid and still do. I have never been tested so don't have any numbers. But I always finished 3-hour tests in under an hour and still scored the highest. As a working professional, speed helps me take on way more projects than my peers and deliver better quality as well as I have time to revisit my work before deadlines. I consider myself of slightly above average intelligence but speed helps me achieve more than what I would otherwise be capable of. So fast processing, IMHO, is a good thing:)

Yep!


Indeed-- THOUGH... with a kid like this, be very wary of efforts to "improve" performance since your child has "time" to "do a better job" on the work.

This happened to me as a child, and it also happened to my DD somewhat. "Slow down! Do a GOOD JOB. You're making mistakes that we KNOW that you can avoid if you just pay attention and slow down."

Well, okay, insisting on 100% accuracy is unrealistic for anyone. That's not even an acceptable thing in most adult occupations (obviously air traffic controllers, hostage negotiators, and neurosurgeons are excused now ).

While it may be true that "error-free" is within the grasp of someone who has a fast processing speed (because they can afford do the assigned task two or even four times over?) that kind of encourages an unhealthy set of OCD-like behaviors, first of all. How many times SHOULD one check over that written paragraph for grammatical errors? How many times is enough reworking of that physics problem?

Secondly, that is a doorway that you don't want to step through because it leads to the depths of task-avoidant perfectionism, or can. If the ONLY authentic challenge becomes finishing "error-free" then that can easily turn into a situation in which-- particularly with more subjective tasks like open-ended written work-- the child sees it as a no-win situation. Either they make no mistakes (whew! I didn't fail!) or they make mistakes (Oh no! I failed to meet my goal!). If they see earning 100% as improbable or impossible, they may simply refuse to do the task at all. There is certainly no REWARD for doing good work at a natural pace.

Having a good plan for what such a child should be permitted to do with her free time is a must, IMO. Also be prepared to push back from "perfect" with a teacher that argues that your child should "slow down" until the 100% marks start rolling in regularly, too. You want your child to LEARN from mistakes-- not "perfectly demonstrate what s/he already has mastery over." It's important not to confuse the two.

Thanks so much all - this has been interesting. Someone mentioned that she must have good fine motor skills since she is writing so much - but that is not the case at all... her letters are big and small and oddly spaced - really - not great... not even good - very average...and don't get me started on the spelling - but she will finish any writing assignment in 2 seconds flat - she is certainly not a perfectionist. I asked her how often it happens that she is finished with her work with nothing to do and she said that she is always finished way ahead of the other kids. She reads the books in her book box and when she is finished, she reads them again..and again. She has had no behavioral problems, and does not complain of the b-word. I always thought she was ADHD... but after being in her kindy for the morning and looking at some of the 5 year old boys, she seems pretty darn typical.

I would agree that having a fast processing speed is a good thing. I've always been very fast at whatever task was there- it took me years though to learn to slow down, read the question carefully; if you finish early, go back and check your answers again.
I'm gettig my kids to learn typing on Nessy Fingers (recommended on this chatsite!)- they had me do it and I can type 80 words per minute. I can write fast, etc.
It is super useful for getting home from work on time too.

I agree that having a fast processing speed is a good thing, but for some folks (my dd is one of them) it also means that you get so used to working fast that you don't slow down, and you might make silly mistakes - dd does this all the time. She almost never makes errors in calculations etc but she will sometimes miss an entire problem (ie, not do it) simply because she's speeding along and doesn't notice it, or she'll write down the opposite of what the question asked because she's reading fast, that kind of thing. So when you ask what other kids who are like this do when they finish their work, for our 3rd grader, we have her go back and re-check the work she just finished to make sure she didn't make any of those type of mistakes!

I also think it's not necessarily all "processing speed" at play - it's easy to think it's processing speed when a student (or adult) completes work really quickly, but it could be a different component of intelligence that's what's really up - could be working memory (my lightning-quick dd also has a relatively high WM), or it could be knowledge/thinking ability. My EG ds has a relatively low processing speed (as measured on IQ testing) and his WM is also lower than his VCI/PRI; he definitely doesn't write or output in any format quickly, and he needs extended time on math tests to show his work. But, otoh, he grasps new concepts exceptionally quickly, blaze through standardized tests amazingly quickly if he is able to answer on the computer and still get 99+%ile scores.

polarbear

Yeah, we have this too. She leaves problems blank by accident. Although maybe that's normal 8yo?


A good reminder. I'm working on this when looking over DD's work packets. This time she brought home a ton of 43/45, 10/11, 18/20, etc. In almost all cases, the points off were careless errors...but you know, just one or two. I know she could get 100% on almost all of it, but I congratulated her on a good packet of work." More importantly, there was no "I tanked this because I panicked/didn't read directions" work.

Indeed-- THOUGH... with a kid like this, be very wary of efforts to "improve" performance since your child has "time" to "do a better job" on the work.

This happened to me as a child, and it also happened to my DD somewhat. "Slow down! Do a GOOD JOB. You're making mistakes that we KNOW that you can avoid if you just pay attention and slow down."

Well, okay, insisting on 100% accuracy is unrealistic for anyone. That's not even an acceptable thing in most adult occupations (obviously air traffic controllers, hostage negotiators, and neurosurgeons are excused now ).

While it may be true that "error-free" is within the grasp of someone who has a fast processing speed (because they can afford do the assigned task two or even four times over?) that kind of encourages an unhealthy set of OCD-like behaviors, first of all. How many times SHOULD one check over that written paragraph for grammatical errors? How many times is enough reworking of that physics problem?

Secondly, that is a doorway that you don't want to step through because it leads to the depths of task-avoidant perfectionism, or can. If the ONLY authentic challenge becomes finishing "error-free" then that can easily turn into a situation in which-- particularly with more subjective tasks like open-ended written work-- the child sees it as a no-win situation. Either they make no mistakes (whew! I didn't fail!) or they make mistakes (Oh no! I failed to meet my goal!). If they see earning 100% as improbable or impossible, they may simply refuse to do the task at all. There is certainly no REWARD for doing good work at a natural pace.


Thank you for posting this. I had an ah ha moment. I can be a little OCD and perfectionist. So this was good for me to read.

My DS does often make silly mistakes because he doesn't read carefully. So it can be frustrating for me as a "perfectionist" because I know he could miss zero if he slowed down. Part of his issue though is trying focused on the longer tests. (ADHD). I agree though the goal should not always be 100 percent. I am going to remember this!!!!! I only find myself thinking 100 is the goal on my DS that is gifted. I don't expect it from my other DS who isn't. What I have always said is I expect them to try there best. I guess when I see the silly errors I wonder if he is "trying" his best. If he slowed down it would help. I can usually tell what he would miss because he didn't know it and what he missed because he went to fast. However I like how you said we should be ok with them learning from mistakes and not expect no errors. Errors make you human!!!

Go forward I'm going to try and remember this. I will add that even if I find myself setting a goal of 100 for him i NEVER say that to him. When he brings home something and he misses 1 and he asks if it is good I always say yes you did great. I do though point out the silly errors to him but not every time!