Jobs for people with slow processing speed

[Anonymous]

I have a 22 year old with processing speed at the 5th percentile. Here’s what I’ve found. He works successfully at Starbucks. It’s because it is memorization of some things then constantly repeating the same tasks over and over in a limited setting.

He has also been successful working at grocery store delis and bakeries. Same thing - repetition and small space

He is now training for HVAC. He is also successful with handyman type of activities. Small electrical and plumbing jobs. Really good at landscaping.

He is super bright. But what he can’t do is desk work, which probably relates to ADHD and personality, not slow processing.

[Anonymous]

My slower processing speed kid teaches swimming and hopes to be an OT one day. He would probably love the work of a PT but his math/science skills aren’t great.

[Anonymous]

My brother has adhd and slow processing speed and works in law enforcement. It’s actually a lot of the same stuff over and over

[Anonymous]

FWIW my ADHD/ASD/Anxiety ds with 20% processing abilities was a game design major and has worked now in gaming for six years

[Anonymous]

There are specialized nonprofits that counsel and place adults with autism.

I've received cold e-mail inquiries from one such non-profit. Don't have the name handy.

Anyway, their websites may have thoughtstarters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are specialized nonprofits that counsel and place adults with autism.

I've received cold e-mail inquiries from one such non-profit. Don't have the name handy.

Anyway, their websites may have thoughtstarters.

least helpful reply ever on dcum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Service jobs are the WORST for low processing speed. Ideally, they need to get hired for jobs where speed isn't of the essence, and when they graduate college, for their competencies in their area of expertise.

My husband has a high IQ, ADHD/HFA and processing speed issues. He has an MD, a PhD and Master's degrees in stats and comp. science fields. He works in a multidisciplinary branch of research that very few people can do. He did poorly in all the manual service jobs he held as a teen. On the first day of his shift as a delivery driver, he crashed the van.

My ADHD/HFA son tested at the 4th percentile for processing speed when he was in elementary. He has extended time even in college! He's shaping to become a version of his father, but in military strategy/national security/applied data science fields. He'll be a knowledgeable, thoughtful and painstaking analyst someday. US security will be in good hands with people like him. He walked dogs for neighbors as a teen and worked as a camp counselor, which worked out fine. No service jobs, he'd fail miserably.

I have low processing speed too, but not as severe as my son. I'm a research biologist. I worked in a pharmacy as a teen, and immeasurably preferred helping the compounding pharmacist at the back, rather than being at the cashier end, where customers stressed me out and I got so muddled.

There's hope, OP!

Thank you for sharing. I have an ADHD kid with low processing speed who scores high in math but struggles in any subject that requires nontechnical reading. This gives me hope.

I have ADHD and low processing speed, and I've done well in the law. I've always sought out great paralegals and am an early adopter of AI assistant technology. I loved policy debate, which is very high-speed and requires intense focus. My ADHD kid loves chess, including speed chess. Processing speed is only an issue if you're having trouble engaging in a subject.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they would enjoy working as a therapist for children or teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Service jobs are the WORST for low processing speed. Ideally, they need to get hired for jobs where speed isn't of the essence, and when they graduate college, for their competencies in their area of expertise.

My husband has a high IQ, ADHD/HFA and processing speed issues. He has an MD, a PhD and Master's degrees in stats and comp. science fields. He works in a multidisciplinary branch of research that very few people can do. He did poorly in all the manual service jobs he held as a teen. On the first day of his shift as a delivery driver, he crashed the van.

My ADHD/HFA son tested at the 4th percentile for processing speed when he was in elementary. He has extended time even in college! He's shaping to become a version of his father, but in military strategy/national security/applied data science fields. He'll be a knowledgeable, thoughtful and painstaking analyst someday. US security will be in good hands with people like him. He walked dogs for neighbors as a teen and worked as a camp counselor, which worked out fine. No service jobs, he'd fail miserably.

I have low processing speed too, but not as severe as my son. I'm a research biologist. I worked in a pharmacy as a teen, and immeasurably preferred helping the compounding pharmacist at the back, rather than being at the cashier end, where customers stressed me out and I got so muddled.

There's hope, OP!

Thank you for sharing. I have an ADHD kid with low processing speed who scores high in math but struggles in any subject that requires nontechnical reading. This gives me hope.

I have ADHD and low processing speed, and I've done well in the law. I've always sought out great paralegals and am an early adopter of AI assistant technology. I loved policy debate, which is very high-speed and requires intense focus. My ADHD kid loves chess, including speed chess. Processing speed is only an issue if you're having trouble engaging in a subject.

Processing speed can vacillate in this way for people with ADHD because of the ADHD, but some people do have slow processing speeds along with ADHD, and not simply because of the ADHD.

Given that OP’s number is so specific, OP is likely getting that number from an evaluation which would have been able to discern whether processing speed is generally low or vacillated widely during testing.

[Anonymous]

For teens, if they have a specific interest in the outdoors, getting a volunteer job at a nature center, farm etc could help with skills, and will start building a resume. My DC has been volunteering at various places since middle school and he used his experience to draft a beautiful college essay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are specialized nonprofits that counsel and place adults with autism.

I've received cold e-mail inquiries from one such non-profit. Don't have the name handy.

Anyway, their websites may have thoughtstarters.

least helpful reply ever on dcum

OK, nasty PP above. I'm back to work now and so I now have the non-profit name I fished out of my e-mail.

This non-profit is more heavily focused on autism but I found their cold calling and presentation materials effective enough that I remembered them and was impressed. They are based in Chicago.

https://www.autonomy.works/about/careers/talent-development-program/

I realize this may not be a perfect fit since slow processing speed does not equal autism. But it's instructive to see this organization's approach.

Here's a brief list of their target areas for placement:

-Digital Marketing Ad Campaign Management
-Transaction Processing - record/validate
-Data Management - data set creation
-Website testing and operational system QA

Hopefully this gets me out of the least helpful post on DCUM ever category.

I find that most people are able to successfully Google about things like finding an org once they are informed that such an org exists.

[Anonymous]

My sister has low iq. She prepares shipments for distribution. It’s repetitive and physically hard, but she doesn’t need to make any quick decisions.

She is not in a sheltered workplace, but another relative was and he did quality control on garments. Very slow pace with an emphasis on being accurate rather than getting through a certain number of pieces per shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister has low iq. She prepares shipments for distribution. It’s repetitive and physically hard, but she doesn’t need to make any quick decisions.

She is not in a sheltered workplace, but another relative was and he did quality control on garments. Very slow pace with an emphasis on being accurate rather than getting through a certain number of pieces per shift.

This PP and others, even on the Special Needs board, confuse low IQ and low processing speed. As some posters have described they are not the same. It is possible to have a high IQ with low processing speed.