Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Processing Speed

My DS8 has been tested and identified as PG, but his processing speed is very slow - so when he has to take a timed test he generally scores 100% on all questions he answers. But since he doesn't complete the entire test, his scores are lowered. Yes he is a perfectionist and wants to make sure anything he answers is correct, but when he must complete a computer timed assessment - he just can't get through it.

Any advice on how to help him get through these timed tests?

Thanks in advance,
Debbie

Is he in school? Does the processing speed issue show up in his ID test results? If so, maybe you can get the school to make accommodations for him to not have to finish the test, or to set a more realistic goal for him.

How slow is his processing speed in relation to his other abilities? My eldest dd, who is HG, is slightly below avg in terms of processing speed, which is a huge difference from working memory, perceptual reasoning, and verbal for her. She has accommodations for extra time written into her Accelerated Learning Plan (ALP) at school and she had a 504 plan in elementary. She did have an OT diagnosis of sensory processing disorder (overresponsive to sensory input) at 7.5, which may have been why they were willing to make accommodations for her as well.

We haven't sought extra time for her on tests like the SAT, though, b/c I don't know that she has a significant enough dx to warrant that and I believe that there is some benefit to her trying to learn to work within the contraints of what life requires at times. We worked on reducing anxiety regarding timed tests first, though, before we tried to get her to deal with getting her to work faster.

I can't say that she really works as quickly as would be desirable still, but she is able to keep up with a pretty heavy school workload and extracurriculars while maintaining her grades at least. She is 11 now.

A few techniques we have tried (once the anxiety was reduced re timers):

*beat the clock at home (work as fast as you can on an assignment with more attn given to speed than accuracy)
*time yourself when working (give yourself 10 or 15 minutes and then see what % of the work you've gotten done in that time, multiply it out, & see how long it will take to complete at that rate)
*stop every 5 or 10 minutes of work and record or reflect on what you've been doing (did you pet the dog, respond to a question your sister had, get distracted by anything and stop thinking about your work...)

Thank you for the suggestions. He is in school, and to be honest the in-school things haven't bothered us - as we know he 'knows' the material - so when he only gets 70% completed on those timed facts, we're ok with it - as we've learned through testing about his perfectionism over the processing speed. Yes, his average processing speed did show up on testing - it was way out of line (100) in comparison with all the other tests.

This really hit home yesterday as he took the SCAT for CTY and only completed 72% of the tests - which is the normal amount for him on any timed test. NOW that will be held against him. I know he can take it over again, but I'm afraid he'll come out disappointed again that he didn't finish it. He's upset now, and sees himself as a failure / a stupid kid / etc...

At this point I'm at a loss ... Not sure what to do.

My dd's processing speed on the WISC was in the 42nd percentile as compared to mid-upper 90s on everything else with VCI and PRI being the highest.

We have those same self image issues with dd9, who isn't quite as slow as my older dd, but she has other issues. That's a really tough thing. I'm sorry. I hope that you can work on building up his self image.

Some kids with low scores on processing speed are actually quite fast at processing but are too perfectionistic to demonstrate it on a test. Other kids actually think and respond slowly. Some have both. Do you have an idea of which your child is?

If it is only perfectionistic behavior, one thing to do is to try to figure out how to allow him some flexabilty to 'rush through' sometimes and 'double check' at other times. Some of the poster here have found that while they were in classrooms well below their readiness level, they were anxious, and took refuge in doing things 100%. The cure for that is to be in classrooms where the work is actually intellectually challenging (aside from timed multiplication facts)
Does any of this fit?

Grinity

Oh yes! This fits 100%. It is perfectionism, and engagement. If the questions are too simple - he slows down even more. So on more complex questions/situations he speeds up. During his testing they noted it various times - he is engaged so there isn't any disability it is just the challenging factors. So no challenge = slower processing. For me it doesn't make sense, but I am not in his shoes, and he can't explain it.

Just a thought. My sons also have low processing speeds. One day my youngest was working on the computer he turned and asked me why the easy questions are hard and the hard questions are easy.

I feel once they have mastered the easy stuff their brains move to the next more interesting harder stuff. Now that their brains are fixed onto more complicated material, it's hard for them to back step. Which requires them to stop and think. Hope this makes since to someone.

Kind of like walking. It's easier to walk forward than it is to walk backwards.

We are dealing with the same thing. Someone in a previous post mentioned www.lumosity.com which has some brain games however ds6 shied away from the ones that required too quick of a response. Maybe we can work our way up to those. You can do a 7 day free trial of all the games. Some games are free all the time.

I think we may be dealing with perfectionism and slowing down for easier questions but I'm not sure. Another thing that might not apply to your son but worth mentioning... our psychologist said that there is a high correlation between ADHD and slow processing speed.

Yes it does make sense ... thanks for your reply!