Rising 3rd grader, ADHD, above average IQ with slow processing speed

[Anonymous]

We recently had our son take the WISC IV with a psychologist to get a sense for his strengths and weaknesses, after getting mixed reports from the school (FCPS). The overall results of the test were a bit iffy in determining his overall IQ because the scores varied significantly on the different sub tests, but it's likely that he has a High Average IQ. However, the scores for the Processing Speed test were quite low, which is apparently not unheard of for kids with ADHD. Overall his Processing Speed scores fell into a Low Average category, with an overall percentile rank of 16. The psychologist told us that because his scores in the other sub tests were high, he may really struggle and become frustrated in school with timed tests, lengthy homework assignments, taking notes, etc. I've done a bit of reading on my own, and what I've read indicates that a child with high Verbal Comprehension and low Processing Speed (which is what we're dealing with) are particularly vulnerable and need to have school accommodations to make up for the difference.

My son has done well academically through 2nd grade, well enough to get some AAP services next year. He has a 504 plan, but it is mostly focused on behavior. For the third grade, and knowing what we do, should we request accommodations now that address the Processing Speed issues? Or is third grade too early for that? I'm of a mind to add the accommodations to his 504 now in the event they are needed, my husband thinks we should wait until the school says it's becoming a problem and then add them.

In the meantime, the psychologist suggested we get a comprehensive visual examination since he apparently struggled the most with tasks on the WISC IV that involved more complex visual processing.

Anybody have a similar experience?

[Anonymous]

Ask for the accommodations now. Don't wait until there is a problem. That will just be time wasted and will just frustrate him and probably his teachers.

Also, you may want to look for a tutor who specializes in organizational skills. Kids with ADHD and processing issues need tips and strategies to keep up in class and organized overall.

[Anonymous]

Definitely ask for accommodations. My DS just finished 3rd grade. He has very similar profile, but is also diagnosed with dysgraphia. The amount of written work is overwhelming, time-wise. There are definitely "tests" in 3rd grade, both in class and system-wide. If you have documented slow-processing your DC should definitely have extra time on tests and minimized distractions environment. Watch your DC's organizational capacity carefully. You may find that your DC needs "special instruction" for self-organizing and planning, monitoring and completing work. The need for specialized instruction would kick you up to an IEP level, instead of the 504.

[Anonymous]

My son has the same thing, he is now going into Highschool.
He has never needed accommodations.

[Anonymous]

My rising third grader with ADHD (inattentive) and possibly Asperger's had a similar low processing speed on his WISC-IV.

HE has had an IEP based on his ADHD since Kindergarten, and gets time and a half, plus repeated directions, seating next to the teacher, tasks broken down into smaller steps, etc...

Get the IEP sooner rather than later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has the same thing, he is now going into Highschool.
He has never needed accommodations.

Aw, that's nice. Do you want a cookie?

OP, if the psychologist who tested him is suggesting accommodations it would be only wise to seek them out sooner rather than later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has the same thing, he is now going into Highschool.
He has never needed accommodations.

Aw, that's nice. Do you want a cookie?

OP, if the psychologist who tested him is suggesting accommodations it would be only wise to seek them out sooner rather than later.

Please quote where the psych suggested accomodations?.

[Anonymous]

I would also ask for the psychologist to give you your son's GAI score, which is a better way to assess the true IQ of kids with very high performance in some areas. Get it in writing. Then you can use that information to show the difference between intellectual potential and processing speed -- this could help with accommodations.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We asked the psychologist what we could expect in school in upcoming years due to the issues with processing speed. She listed what he would likely struggle with, and then said he will need more time to take tests, and that we may want to request that the teacher give out copies of lecture notes and cut down on homework volume if needed. But she didn't really talk about when - 3rd grade? Middle school? High school? So without using the word "accommodation", she did suggest some to us over the phone just without a suggested time frame.

[Anonymous]

Question for OP. Does your DS take medication to help with ADHD symptoms? If not, that might explain the low processing speed (or might not). DS has had an IEP since first grade due to ADHD. School testing documented low processing speed - the testing led to the ADHD DX and eligibility for an IEP. In 3rd grade (he's going into 5th), he was tested privately at Kennedy-Krieger and was taking ADHD medication - the low processing speed moved up to average. He still has ADHD and a lot of organizational issues, in addition to some LDs, but medication might help (or not). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We asked the psychologist what we could expect in school in upcoming years due to the issues with processing speed. She listed what he would likely struggle with, and then said he will need more time to take tests, and that we may want to request that the teacher give out copies of lecture notes and cut down on homework volume if needed. But she didn't really talk about when - 3rd grade? Middle school? High school? So without using the word "accommodation", she did suggest some to us over the phone just without a suggested time frame.

Get the accomodations now. My son has a similar profile and it was in 4th grade in an accelerated class that things started getting hairy. School was easy up until that point, then it was challenging for the first time and accomodations were increasingly necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We asked the psychologist what we could expect in school in upcoming years due to the issues with processing speed. She listed what he would likely struggle with, and then said he will need more time to take tests, and that we may want to request that the teacher give out copies of lecture notes and cut down on homework volume if needed. But she didn't really talk about when - 3rd grade? Middle school? High school? So without using the word "accommodation", she did suggest some to us over the phone just without a suggested time frame.

My son has the same processing score and is starting high school, not one accomodation and he is not on meds.
Get it in writing but why get accomodations when they r not yet needed.

[Anonymous]

I can believe people actually want an IEP.
If its needed yes, great.
But why why make your kid stand out when it's not needed.
Kids will be adults in a real world with no accomodations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can believe people actually want an IEP.
If its needed yes, great.
But why why make your kid stand out when it's not needed.
Kids will be adults in a real world with no accomodations

The point of the IEP is to give kids the skills and strategies to eventually live/learn without these supports or employe adaptive measures that don't "stand out" Many bright kids with ADHD do "okay" for a few years but then the demands exceed their ability to manage -- and then need support after a lot of failure etc.

[Anonymous]

We're in APS, but I have a similar DS who just finished third grade. Here's a few examples that are in our IEP that might help you - for units that eventually have tests, all kids in the class get a review packet at the end of the unit (for example at the end of the Soc. Studies unit on Ancient Greece), my DS gets it at the beginning so that we know what's being taught in class and can work on it at home; all tests are untimed - be it a unit test or something like a state mandated SOL test. SOLs start in third grade, so you may want to have testing accomodations in your plan now. My son also has dyslexia, so reading is particularly challenging - we have it noted that for tests where he isn't allowed "read on demand" (e.g. tests that measure reading ability/comprehension) that he can break them up and take thes tests in smaller chunks as needed.