J has a very low processing speed. This was shown at her SALT appt and her WISC assessment (IQ test). She placed in the 5th percentile compared to her overall result of 97th percentile!
Pre-diagnosis
Slow processing speed can happen on its own, but often co-occurs with ADHD, dyslexia and anxiety.
I remember in the past, pre diagnosis, we would try and get J to hurry up getting ready for school by shouting out multiple things to her, ie have you brushed your hair, cleaned your teeth, got your book bag ready etc, totally not realising that a) these were demands and b) that she just wasn't able to take all this information in at once, let alone act on it! Telling her to “hurry up” just fuelled her anxiety.
If only we knew then what we know now... but then, at the time we parented as we in turn were parented as children!
Vicious circle
Anxiety happens to all of us. It certainly does to me. Perhaps more so as I have got older. In children, this anxiety can create a delay in processing speed. But slow processing speed can also create feelings of anxiety. The two can ignite each other and can become a vicious circle.
Processing time
As a parent, witnessing slow processing speed in action can be bewildering, even frustrating. J can often appear focused, but then doesn't seem to get much done. We now allow for her to process situations or words without getting her to hurry up, because let's face it the last thing we want to do is add to any anxiety she may already be feeling.
Having a slow processing speed means that although J often knows the right answer to a question, she just needs more time to answer it.
Fast paced
As the world has become a fast paced place to live and we place such a high value on doing things quickly, it can be difficult to live with a nervous system that needs more time to process information.
In order to be successful in today’s classrooms, a child needs to be able to process large amounts of information quickly and be able to shift back and forth between different types of tasks. This was a huge problem for J when she was at mainstream school.
Embrace challenges
Empathy is key to helping J recognise and manage her anxiety. Teachers and we as parents need to help her learn to embrace her challenges. A school setting that understands all of this will be of huge benefit to J, and will become part of her virtuous circle!
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