Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Very slow processing...?

Also, he has always had trouble sleeping from birth, so that's another reason I'm relooking at ADD. I did ask the assessor if she was sure he didn't have it, and she said she's been doing this a long time and her gut instinct was anxiety but she did not rule it out, she just said she didn't think that was it. He doesn't seem anxious when he's daydreaming though, and he's daydreaming probably 85% of the time.

Yep, last night DD read some stupid Goosebumps book and at midnight she was trying to tell me about the book so that she could "get over it" and that was the last thing I wanted to be doing!

The psychs who gave DD the WJ and the WISC didn't see ADHD either (2 different psychs). I'm sure it would have been more obvious if she had gone into testing completely unmedicated, but even the "professionals" do not always see it, esp. if it's just an hour or two in an unnatural situation where a kid is with a strange adult and trying really hard to do what's asked of them. My DD CAN focus, she just has to put an inordinate amount of effort into it. It wasn't obvious to her teachers in kindergarten and first grade, either, but I think she is fairly severe, and it is the combined type. My DS just finished first grade and his teacher had a Master's in Special Ed. Four months went by and she didn't seem to notice anything amiss with DS, then finally after watching him for something else, she noticed that he's a space cadet in class and has focus issues. We did a trial of meds just for a few days and she noticed a dramatic difference, so in the fall we will have to look at the issue again.

You might want to consider his organizational skills as well, which are frequently a deficit in ADHD. And, beyond clinical observations, there are actual tests for attentional dysregulation, impulsivity, cognitive flexibility, etc. (usually computer-based), which should be accessible to most neuropsychologists, especially hospital-based ones. Notably, the Conners CPT & CATA.

aeh his organizational skills don't seem that bad, he can follow directions, if I tell him to go get his shoes on and brush his teeth, generally he will do it and come back. He can sit down and do boring homework on his own, unless something in the homework is hard and he needs my help. He doesn't like to do homework but he can motivate himself to do it.

He just seems like a normal kid (not a genius by any means, but maybe a little bit "little professor"), but interested in science, art, biology - that daydreams about 50% of the time- and that has separation anxiety to the point where there was a time recently when he wouldn't be in any room of our house alone. I've been working on it and he's much better, but even tonight he couldn't sit in the living room by himself and watch tv while I was in the bathroom with DD giving her a bath.

I've been scouring the web trying to find a description of a kid like my DS and the inattentive ADD children are described as fairly disorganized, they forget homework, can't follow multistep directions, etc. He's actually fairly good at remembering his homework, forgets his books maybe once every couple of months, and doesn't get off task once he's started (at least at home). However his teacher last year noted that he is impulsive, inattentive and doesn't track with others. She was a pretty strict teacher though. She's also the one who when I asked her if she thought he had ADD she asked if I had had him assessed for giftedness.

Assessor thinks he has strong perfectionism that triggers anxiety and this is the reason for slow processing.

But at this point I haven't found anything that I've read where I've been A HA that's my kid- hopefully I can get a copy of the school test and I will find a clue there. I am also looking to locate someone who understands gifted kids who can determine/rule out a LD.

Is there a school psych? If so see if she/he can go into the classroom and do an observation. I actually went into the first grade class and watched as well for about an hour and was surprised at what I saw because DS was very off-task there and he's not usually that bad at home. However even with that I couldn't figure out if he just didn't WANT to do the work, if he couldn't figure out what to do, or if he was distracted by what was going on in the room. He was just sitting there staring off and looked a bit irritated. Then the school psych went in and observed while he was dong a paper-pencil math test and said he was on-task 49 percent of the time and it should be more like 80 for a first grader. When he wasn't doing the work he was looking out the window, playing with his eraser, etc. I STILL am not sure if this is ADHD or if this is DS being lazy or dysgrapic or fatigued from writing so much. It can be really hard to figure it out.

On the other hand, how old is your DS? If he has separation anxiety it does sound like anxiety is a huge issue. He could be off-task because he's worried about things that other kids wouldn't be worried about. I can see separation anxiety in terms of a 6+ year old not wanting to be dropped off at a camp without having friends there, or starting a new school, but what you describe about not wanting to be left alone in the living room while you're in the bathroom seems really severe. If he's worried about where you are in the house, and what's going to happen when he's alone, then he's not focused on what he's doing and will look spacey.

Perfectionism and separation anxiety have been the topic of recent posts, possibly some of those discussions may be of help?

Hoagies has lists of psychologists and professionals familiar with gifted children, and some do phone consults.

These youtube videos may also be of interest: SENG, Webb. This book is mentioned.

A few thoughts to consider about possible 2e in addition to anxiety (that's a 2e, too).

I was looking over some of my journal article clippings and noticed one about differences and similarities in presentation of a specific form of familial dyslexia in average cognitive and high verbal IQ kids. (Keep in mind this may or may not translate to other forms of dyslexia, of which there are many.) Many familiar points, but a couple of additional nuances. Highlights:

1. Unlike average IQ dyslexics, high verbal IQ dyslexics often read, comprehend, and spell in the average range, but that doesn't mean they're not struggling more subtly.
2. Behaviorally, they may be observed to be inattentive, especially in the classroom, because of the relatively heavy phonological and orthographic working memory load involved in reading and writing. Processing speed is also affected because of weak automaticity in basic skills.
3. On formal testing, even though they may read, comprehend, and write at or above normative levels, the same underlying phonological processing inefficiencies and working memory deficits are present as are found in average cognitive dyslexics, they just don't get referred for this kind of evaluation as often, because teachers (and sometimes parents) don't believe they are underachieving. [Good instruments to find these are the CTOPP/CTOPP-2 and PAL/PAL-II. And also other tests that include RAN and RAS measures (rapid automaticity).]

LAF, my son can also be pretty anxious. This is the pattern we have noticed:

Big change on the horizon - like moving up a grade or a close friend moving

2-4 weeks out (depending on how much the change is talked up) he will start to have more off task attention issues at school. His teachers will complain he isn't getting his work done, etc. At the same time, the excessive chewing of finger nails and shirt collars starts. At home he'll avoid being alone but will try to cover up the fact. For example, "Go upstairs, and get your shoes" is met with him going upstairs, lingering in the hall and then coming down and saying he couldn't find them and asking for me to go help him look for them. It isn't getting distracted and not following through. When pressed he will admit that he is just too scared to go alone and needs help.

These times are exhausting.

The big change comes and goes, all is well, the nails grow, the collars stay dry and he quits being so clingy at home.

I always assumed this was anxiety. DH and I were anxious kids (I chewed and had stomach aches, he pulled his hair out - literally) and we are very mellow adults.

DS explained to me that he was like our chickens:

When we first got them, the breeder said they might not lay eggs for a while because they would be stressed in their new environment. It took about a week for them to settle in.

He says when he is in a new environment, he is stressed until he figures it all out.

Then, as if he were talking to an idiot, "Mom, you understand I am not saying I am going to start laying eggs. I mean that, like my chickens, it takes me a while to feel comfortable in my environment. When they feel comfortable, they lay eggs. When I feel comfortable, I get my work done and don't get upset so easily."

Yes, dear, I understand. It is called an analogy You use them often.

Ah KJP we have chickens too. I like his analogy.

My son was being picked on by at least 1/3 of the class this year because he fidgeted and sucks on his fingers. Of course the more they picked on him, the worse it got. He finally made one friend about 2/3 of the way through the year, and through that one friend he made a few more. So it became 1/3 friendly, 1/3 neutral and 1/3 mean- and I tried to switch it in his head by saying so 2/3 of the class- the majority- either like you or don't dislike you. But he still had to go to class and get picked on, and when his friend stood up for him they started picking on his friend. It was a bad situation.

I also notice that since he is out of school many of the things he does to reduce stress have disappeared as (hopefully) he does not need them.