Understanding and helping students with slower processing speeds.

2. SOME KIDS ARE NATURALLY FAST…
…Some kids aren’t. …
Processing speed…
• Can’t be understood in isolation
• Is related to language, memory, attention
• Has become increasingly important in our
fast-paced world.
• And involves…
1. Perceiving Information
2. Processing It
3. Formulating a Response

3. CAN BE ASSESSED IN SEVERAL WAYS
• Processing speed subtests of cognitive measures, cognitive efficiency
scores
• Timed subtests of achievement measures, academic fluency scores
• Observation of response time/style
• BUT CAN BE HARD TO DISTINGUISH
FROM
• ADHD – inattentive
• Receptive and expressive language disorders
• Auditory processing disorder

4. PROCESSING SPEED IS OFTEN RELATED TO
OTHER ISSUES
• ADHD
• Learning Disabilities
• Transient Problems
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Traumatic Stress
• Brain Injury

5. HOW MIGHT THESE STUDENTS BE DESCRIBED IN
CLASS?
• Unmotivated
• Sluggish
• Apathetic
• Daydreamers
• Oppositional
• Fidgety
• Disorganized
• Impulsive

6. HOW MIGHT A PARENT DESCRIBE THEM?
• Last to get ready to go anywhere
• Doesn’t start/finish homework
• Doesn’t answer when spoken to
• Daydreams
• Always a step behind
• Can’t find shoes, homework
• Frustrates whole family

7. PROCESSING SPEED CHALLENGES CAN INCLUDE…
• Processing spoken language less fluently
• Not writing quickly and accurately
• Slow reading fluency
• Information overload negatively impacting
attention
• Can’t follow quickly given, complex directions

8. AND…
• Trouble with retrieval from long-term memory
• Can’t finish (anything) in allotted time period
• Peer problems, can’t keep up with fast-paced
verbal and social media interactions

9. SOME KIDS COPE IN UNEXPECTED WAYS
• Rushing through work
• Acting impulsively
• Handing in incomplete work
• Insisting something/someone else is the
problem
• “You never told me…”
• “I did finish it…”

10. INTERVENTION OR ACCOMMODATION?
Students with a slower processing speed will
likely continue to process more slowly than
their peers, however repeated practice and
overlearning can improve specific skills.
Teaching time management skills is also
helpful.
Accommodating processing speed deficits can be
done in a number of ways beyond the standard
“hurry up!”

11. POSSIBLE ACCOMMODATIONS
• Do provide extended time for work completion
• Provide an extra set of books and materials at home
• Use technology for efficiency, e.g. word processing rather
than hand writing, email a teacher, automated reminders
• Provide examples of completed projects or assignments to
help the student visualize what “done” looks like
• Reduce “clutter”, both verbal and visual. Simplify, simplify,
simplify!
• Provide outlines, study guides, etc. instead of requiring note
taking in class; make sure the student is actively engaged
with completing the guide

12. THE EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF SLOW PROCESSING
• Slow to pick up on social cues
• Hard to keep up with conversations
• Frustration of friends when “you are always
late!”
• “We don’t want him in our group, he’ll never get
his part done!”
• Potential for low self esteem, anxiety, and
depression

13. AND EMOTIONAL ISSUES CAN IMPACT MANY
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING
PROCESSING SPEED
Emotional difficulties can lower processing speed
as well. The needs of children who have
experienced trauma or brain injury become
more complex. Not only are they traumatized
but many of their processing and memory
skills can be compromised, increasing their
stress.

14. TAKE AWAYS ON PROCESSING SPEED
• It is a complex process of taking in, processing, and
acting on information
• Has multiple components including auditory, visual,
motor
• Has many “faces” in the classroom and at home
• Can result in, or be impacted by ,emotional difficulties
• Impacts peer and family relationships
• Repeated practice and overlearning may help
• Accommodations and self advocacy reduce stress and
improve outcomes

15. RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up
Help Your Child Overcome Slow Processing
Speed and Succeed in a Fast-Paced World
Braaten, and Willoughby
The Guilford Press, New York
2014
Nancy Driscoll, MA, LPA , Raleigh, NC