Slow processing speed- a 'thing' to worry about or not?

[LovelyBath]

I've just found out at parent's evening that DS is being given extra time in the yr 6 SATS due to his slowness in writing. I didn't realise he was that slow! It seems he is very bright, and often answers half a practice paper well but the other half is blank due to the time he takes.

I asked whether I should speak to someone about it and they mentioned the SENCO if i wanted to but not sure. I guess he's moving to secondary now so might as well wait and say what they say.

My son was assessed by an Ed Pysch last summer (between year 3 and 4) and found, like other DC on this thread to have a very high IQ (146) but a processing speed on the 12th centile. He now has extra time in some in school tests and is going to be using a laptop from next year. He also had an OT assessment which showed that his writing speed was just about average for his age, no fine motor skill problems, but problems with proprioception.

The pros of have an official assessment are that he now gets this extra time in some subjects so can be assessed on a level playing field. Teachers are more accepting that it's the quality rather than the quantity of his work that matters. He was bullied badly by his class teacher last year resulting in huge anxiety - the assessment gives him some protection against this happening again.

On the negative side, there is a misunderstanding from some teachers that his additional time equates to a lower ability and he is not in the "challenge" groups in most subjects. I think they think his brain doesn't work very quickly whereas he is incredible sharp. His processing speed is like a funnel when it comes to getting things down.

Rafalsthekingofclay - I'm interested in your post that laptops can do more harm than good. Everyone seems to see this as the "solution" for my DS, but I've got concerns about it - I think the focus should be on helping him to plan and set targets within his work, showing him what a good level of achievement would be etc.and that the laptop/typing could end up being yet another thing to think about when he is trying to produce work. I'd be interested in any research you've seen if you are able to link.

If his need for extra time is ongoing he will need a formal assessment of his processing speeds by Ed Psych or qualified SENCO to meet the JCQ criteria at gcse and beyond. It is possible to have laptop use or scribe without it, as long as it has been established as his normal way of working supported by teaching staff, but not extra time.

My DD is severely dyslexic and was relieved when she got a diagnosis as it explained so many of her difficulties and reassured her that they weren't due to lack of intelligence.

There's evidence that metacognitive training can be a real support with this kind of condition ie understanding what you find difficult and why and then developing strategies to ameliorate the difficulties.

Dyslexia as a diagnosis doesn't get you extra time. The criteria now emphasises how dyslexia or whatever impacts a student performing in exams. Hence "slow processing speed" also things like poor spelling, struggling with fine motor control, slow reading speed etc.
Slow processing speed could come from "dyslexia" or a number of other conditions. Having or not having a label will not change a child/person. If they are going to struggle they are going to struggle. If an employer is an arse they will not want an employee who struggles, whether they have a label or not. So will "get rid" of them.
On the other hand a label will help a good employer make accommodations. A label can also give protections under law (dyslexia was mentioned in the Disability Discrimination Act).
But sometimes it's not easy to get to the root cause of why someone has "slow processing speed".
Also some MH issues are now linked to some SNs, and maybe even more to undiagnosed SN. There are no clear boundaries in life.

Mummytime I have to disagree with you. I don't think that a child (or an adult for that matter) should "have to struggle" and make appropriate accommodations can help ensure that there isn't a struggle. If someone knows that they have a learning difference or difficulty in doing something, then it's probably wise not to go into a profession that requires that skill set. My ds needs enormous amounts of sleep and gets sick a lot. I am encouraging him to stay away from professions where you can't control when you are required to be healthy and available. (ie. He's probably better suited to writer than doctor.)
I do agree that it isn't always easy to get to the root cause of the symptom of a learning difference, but that doesn't mean that one just gives up. Science and medicine learn new things about our minds and bodies every day. Of course there are no clear boundaries... which is what makes it possible for our children to have dreams of possibilities in life. If my ds had grown up in poverty in Russia or a miner in the north of England a few hundred years ago like his ancestors, he would not have made it to adulthood.

SofiaAmes - I agree with you. My 9 year old currently wants to be an architect which I think is a great ambition. If he were talking about being a racing car driver I might harbour some reservations. But he will only achieve the grades needed to become an architect if he has the right accommodations made and the right support now. I don't know that much about architecture, or his other ambition of archeology, but I imagine that these careers might be suited to someone who is detail oriented and creative like he is.

If he gets the right grades and choses a job where his processing speed either doesn't matter or is an asset then I don't see that he'll need to "declare" it or be stigmatised for it.

As it happens, I am an architect. It is a very very poorly paid profession (maybe try to marry him off early to someone rich) and requires long hours, but precision and creativity are definite musts and there are lots of fields that you can go into with an architectural training like design and planning.....

Yes, in terms of the SATs I think it was about the speed of the writing rather than diagnosis. I know what you mean bout teachers not understanding. I think back on all those comments- e.g. You need to SPEED UP! and feel for ds. (luckily he didn't seem to be too bothered though. But for years they;ve been going on and on about the speed and him being so so slow and hinting I should do more at home etc and now sudsy in Year 6 with SATS looming it's all about extra time and the first mention of this possible diagnosis.

I'm definitely going to see the SENCO straight after the holidays and ask about assessment etc before secondary. How long does that take I wonder? He has these CAT tests one Saturday at the new school which they are going to ask he gets extra time for and thing he'll manage OK.

RTkanga can I ask when you first suspected that your DS had some difficulties? Was there anything you did/could have done to help him before he got his diagnosis?
I ask because my DS was also prem & had lots of problems initially. He is now 3.5 & is fine medically & developmentally. However for various reasons I have a sneaking suspicion that he may have some problems that will come to light later. How was your DS as a preschooler?

santa I started my ds typing (bbc had a online thing on its website for kids to learn how to touchtype) at 4. By the time he was 6 or 7 he was typing all his assignments that he could. Nowadays people understand that typing uses a different part of the brain than handwriting and a child who struggles with the latter can do just fine with the former. It would not have been offered to my ds as an option until age 12 or 13, I think if he hadn't already learned to type and it was obvious that it was much better for him than handwriting.

Sofia - That's such a coincidence! It was my ambition at his age too but I ended up becoming a writer which is also not an ideal main salary job! By the by I read that conveyancing solicitor was an ideal job for a bright person with slow processing speed which is what my dad does. I think it was in this book which I would recommend.

There's a condition called dysgraphia which I am looking into with interest, with regards to DS and his incredibly slow writing. He's in yr5 and the pressure is (unfairly on all pupils) mounting to attempt to reach these new elevated SATS levels. He comes home virtually in tears after his teacher tells him he has to write faster, but it's really difficult for him. Again, very bright and able, just finds it really tricky to get ideas from his brain to the paper, and then to write at length.

Again I'd suggest finding out in what way is it difficult. Does he find the physical act of writing difficult (hard work) so is slow or does he find thinking of things to write difficult or does he struggle with spelling, grammar, ordering words and sentences to make sense or does he not understand what is being asked of him?

Knowing the nature of the problem is much more useful in finding a solution and providing appropriate support than umbrella labels that are really quite meaningless.

www.ldonline.org/article/12770/

www.ldonline.org/indepth/processing

Thanks mrz, really helpful stuff. My DS finds the act of writing hard, especially cursive writing and I think this is partly to do with him missing out on vital stages of the learning process when we were overseas for a few years, where there was little emphasis on learning the craft of writing.

He also finds it hard to order his thoughts and spends quite a lot of time day dreaming, but once he has started writing, he does produce some really nice work. His vocabulary is great, and reading/comprehension/spelling age is 13 so we know he has the knowledge, just how to help him express it is the challenge.

"On the negative side, there is a misunderstanding from some teachers that his additional time equates to a lower ability and he is not in the "challenge" groups in most subjects. I think they think his brain doesn't work very quickly whereas he is incredible sharp. His processing speed is like a funnel when it comes to getting things down."

Yes, this is a concern with me; I don't want this to happen at secondary when he transfers. thankfully, the primary school teachers he has at present seem to understand it quite well and are going to mention it to the transfer teachers meeting to secondary.

My DC have done much better at secondary. In partly because they can show if given he time that the quality of their work is of a much higher standard than some one who is less able. Eg. Depth of analysis, or coping with harder maths problems (even if they can't do as many in the time.)

My ds has dysgraphia. It's an odd thing. There is nothing wrong with his fine motor skills and he can type up a storm. He just finds handwriting laborious. I think it's a disconnect between the part of his brain that makes the words and the part of his brain that instructs the hand to write them. Interestingly the part of the brain that instructs the hands to type words is different than the handwriting part and I guess there isn't a disconnect between the typing part and the making words part.

lovely my ds was always put in lower groups presumably because of his slow processing. When I finally got testing done at age 8, the woman who did the testing was so irritated because ds tested as having a genius iq and she couldn't understand how his teachers couldn't recognize that he just needed more time.

SofiaAmes, It's really interesting that my ds is the same. He can type really fast, and actually do lots of typing activities( writing blog(not real), writing computer programming, or even writing his own play) at home as a hobby.
But when it comes to hand writing, he struggles so much.

Typing and writing by hand use different muscles and strange as it may sound weak core stability is more likely to be the problem than fine motor difficulty. Strengthening the shoulder girdle can make writing less of an effort

Yes, mrz, in my ds's case, his fine motor seems fine, but weak core stability makes sense. How do you strengthen shoulder girdle? My ds has a body like a twig due to his health condition. He likes to walk and run, so his legs are quite strong, but upper body, he has no strength at all.

Monkey bars and climbing frames in the park can help
Animal walking
Wheelbarrow walking - him walking on hands with someone supporting his legs
Wall push up
Windmills with arms straight at shoulder height

Thank you mrz. We will start doing them straight away. Monkey bars, he hated it, I didn't think anything of it until now, but it must have been because he was so weak and couldn't hold on to it.

If someone supports his legs initially as he builds up strength can slowly remove