If there are any teachers here I have a Question

I forgot to mention. The math teacher for one said that she is kinda slow at doing her math but, she IS able to do it.

What is her processing speed? Could she be ADD-Inattentive, meaning that she has a hard time staying focused and is easily distracted? I have seen this happen with some kids that are ADD. They have the capability but they lack the structure and ability to self start things and follow through to until it is finished and they need me prodding them along with a timer and motivating them. However, if the strange things is if they won’t need prompting if it is something they are interested in they have no trouble doing it or finishing it.

The guess about add inattentive type is a good one. Should be investigated further. It does sound as if she is using the teacher’s presence as a mechanism to stay on task. A couple of things from a teacher that use to be a therapist:

1. Don’t discount pursuing a conversation with your daughter about what she is actually struggling with. You more than likely have, but if she feels safe, she may be very aware of what the attention is doing for her.
2. Clearly, she is already having some level of difficulty or she wouldn’t refuse to do the work without the teacher’s presence. I see no need to say there is no problem when your daughter is clearly indicating that there is.
3. The 19 point difference is a give away on the ADD guess. It sounds to me like a very bright child has learned to create systems and mechanisms to assist her attention problems. The teacher’s structured assistance is an excellent way for her to stay on task.
4. Finally, it is possible that the need for attention represents something else. To make decisions on the need for follow-up solely on those test results I would consider inappropriate without further examination.

I am curious, my fourth child also has a large discrepancey between Verbal and performance IQ, something like 28 points.

Extremely high VIQ (99+ percentile), lower PIQ is about 81st percentile. Perceptual Organization is 77th percentile, Freedom from Distractibility 92nd percentile, Processing Speed 73rd percentile.

I was not aware that a VIQ/PIQ split was an indication of ADD inattentive. No one has ever suggested my child might be ADD, but sure can seem scattered at times. Can you explain more about this?

THANKS

Here is my thing. My son also had a 35 point difference between verbal and non-verbal IQ . He is diagnosed with asperger syndrome. I am wondering if my daughter has this or a non-verabal learning disability. I am going to have this further tested at childrens hospital. I would also recommend you have your child tested further. In my experience ( which has been a long a hard struggle) my kids schools would rather ignore my childrens learning disability, and brush them under the table. YOU are the only one that is going to fight for your child. Ask your self this. Do you see things wrong with your daughter, even little things? Do you feel a gut instinct that something is just not right? You are her parent. You know her better than anyone. Therefore follow your very powerful parental instinct and get her further testing. My guess is they will find something. That is a pretty significant difference in points if you ask me. And requires further investigation. Good luck! JOY

She is going to be tested shortly, at childrens hospital. I will fill you in on the results. Thanks!

Look at how low it is..73….that is what cinched the diagnosis for our daughter being ADD. There was a consistent drop in her processing speed over a period of years…She went from a 122 processing speed to a processing speed of 79 and that according to the ADD specialist along with some other testing showed she was ADD-Inattentive. She too had the VIQ/PIQ split. She is weaker verbally than she is spatially. However, kids with ADD sometimes will do poorly on digit span, coding, and areas that require memory, concentration and focus.. Our daughter ironically had a score of 17 on coding when her processing speed was 122…it dropped way down when her processing speed was 79 to about 10…

I have a question for the experts here about my old self. I haven’t pursued this any further with the docs but wanted to ask your opinion. I am an adult, I was dxed with add/inattentive plus high scores indicating passive/avoidant personality last spring. I also have a 41 pt split between verbal(121) and performance(80).The doc didn’t do a full wisc test, a screener only. Do you think with the p/a personality style along with the high verbal and extremely low performance that it fits with nld? I have been to the nld sites, I fit some but not all of the profile. I am not disabled socially like I have read about with p/a personalities but my mom has always thought that I seem detached(actually I have always been really shy which she would tell me that others would think I was stuck up, I just never knew how to approach people). I was an early reader also, have terrible math skills, getting places skills, parking skills, can’t put together a 24 piece puzzle, the list goes on. Just thought I’d ask here because I think folks here know more than on other places I have visited. Thanks y’all.

Hi Amy,

I haven’t been tested as an adult for IQ but I qualified for Gifted and Talented when I was a kid. I was an early reader, I was very shy but that had a lot to do with having a dysfunctional family life and being hearing impaired. So what I am saying some of the issues that you are seeing can be a result of Nature but some of them are influenced by Nurture…

I am very spatial, I think in terms of pictures, and I have a hunch I am much stronger visually than I am verbally Sometimes I have trouble with word retrieval I have more difficulty with hyperactivity, being easily distracted, and being inattentive to details but I am also very detailed in other areas..I don’t fit the cookie cutter mold either…

You could be NLD, you don’t have to have all the markers just a percentage of them…is it really important to know for sure you are NLD?

Not really, just had a lingering nag from all the reading I have done plus curiousity. Probably too much reading, I tend to obsess over stuff occasionally. It wouldn’t make a difference in how things are in day to day life, at 39 I suppose I am the way I will always be. Just wondering really. Thanks.

A VIQ/PIQ split means about 100,000 different things, but I have never heard it correlated to ADD inattentive. Whoever is feeding you this is full of it. You should consult with a clinical pediatric psychologist, neuropsychologist, or your school’s psychologist when pursuing this information. Rather than getting it off of the internet.

Matt W., EdS.
School Psychologist

my son has a very slow processing speed. He is diagnosed with aspergers syndrome. My friend has a daughter with a very slow processing speed, she is ppdnos. Her son is also a slow processing speed, he is full blown autism. My other friend has a child with low processing speed, but her daughter is mrdd. Low processing speed can indicate a lot of different things. Alot of kids are misdiagnosed with ADD. It is a EASY answer for EVERYTHING. Are you Sure this is what your child really has? My sister, her son was diagnosed with ADD. He just got worse and worse. Now he finally has the correct diagnosis and is on the Correct medication. He is Bipolar. Make sure you have the correct diagnosis. As I said. ADD is the quick lazy and easy answer for everything. Check it out your self. asperger syndrome, bipolar in kids, ppdnos, etc and more. All have simular symptoms, in some ways, and are WAY TO OFTEN CALLED ADD.

I have a son dx’d with PDD-NOS he has a high proccessing speed index 106 but a low freedom from distractability score 73. His dx came from a neuoropsychologist who told me you have to look at the whole pattern of the IQ test along with other supporting information to come up with the dx. No one factor score can be used to diagnosis. My other son has a processing speed of 105 but his freedom from distractability score is 85-he is dx ADHD, inattentive type, CAPD, and dyslexia. The individual who did our testing said each child is different in presentation and for anyone to make a dx off of 1 score is steering you in the wrong direction. Both boys have had an extensive evalution to not only include IQ testing but also achievement testing, memory testing, lanuage tests, behavioral checklists, and observation both in the classroom and at home.