Editor’s note:   Merridee Michelsen, Ph. D.,  Assistant Headmaster -- Internal Affairs and Director of Academics at Brandon Hall School in Atlanta, Georgia, sent the information in letter form to assist FamilyLight ^sm in meeting the needs of one of our clients with a slow processing issue.   With Dr. Michelsen's help, we have edited her work very slightly for more general use,  for example, removing the name of our client.   Our client was male, so the information uses male pronouns.  Keep in mind the issues raised here are applicable to both male and female students alike.  Also note that in proposing accommodations, Dr. Michelsen was working from a psycho-educational evaluation of a particular student. 

WISC-IV scores of the student triggering this communication are as follows:

In Dr. Michelsen's words:

We often hear that a child has a processing disorder or has a slow processing speed, but what does that really mean, and how does it impact the child?

Processing speed affects how the brain organizes information.  It impacts upon a person’s ability to focus on important things while ignoring less important items, and is what allows the brain to shift from one activity to another.  There are many ways the brain receives information.  In school, the two most common ways students receive and process information are through auditory and visual input (National Center for Learning Disabilities).  

How well a student understands what someone is saying, his ability to keep up when someone talks quickly, to block out distracting, interfering sounds, to distinguish one voice from another, remember what he has heard, and sequence sounds correctly are a just a few of the procedures involved with auditory processing.  Auditory processing is not a problem with the student’s hearing, but rather it is with how that information is interpreted by the brain. 

Some of the components of visual processing include how quickly and easily he can understand what he sees, his ability to picture things in his head, and remember what he sees.  It also includes a student’s ability see words and numbers as meaningful units and to understand the difference between b’s and d’s or p’s and q’s. Visual processing is used when a person coordinates his movement with what he sees.  If there is a disconnect between what is seen and how the body responds, the person will appear to be awkward or clumsy.

How quickly someone can look at visual information and make sense of it is impacted by processing speed.  If a person processes more slowly than the people around him, there may be negative repercussions with his level of awareness, his working memory, how he interacts with his peers, and how comfortable he feels in social situations.  Because it takes the person longer to process material, he may have difficulty linking new information to his prior knowledge.  If a person has weak or undeveloped social skills due to a slow processing speed, as time goes on and more is expected of him, he may become frustrated.  Frustration only compounds the problem and a downward spiral begins.  Parents often see the impact of their child’s processing speed when the child seems unable to begin and complete household chores or homework.  

Richard Lavoie, in his Fat City video (Frustration, Anger and Tension), shows how students with processing speed issues are often still processing a question when the teacher expects an answer.  Even if a student knows the answer, he may have slow word retrieval problems, so he is unable to participate in the same manner as his classmates.  Lavoie explains that for a student who processes language slowly, note taking is a nightmare. It is not a matter of motivation; the student simply cannot respond as quickly as a classmate that does not have processing difficulties.

First and foremost, the student needs the gift of time.  In all reading and math tasks, be they tests, quizzes or homework, the student needs more time to show his proficiency and less laborious assignments to prove his knowledge.

·         For reading, I strongly suggest the student become a member of RFB&D (see online information).  This is a government subsidized program that was started in the forties to support the visually impaired but now has extended their services to students with all sorts of reading handicaps (of which reading fluency is part).  By listening to tapes (even ones of text books), and following along with a highlighter, The student can more correctly pace reading intake and enhance comprehension, increase comprehension, and eliminate anxiety (which interferes with the successful completion of all human behaviors).  This is also a very positive accommodation for students with ADHD.  Therefore, the student should be allowed to have all his books, text and novels, on recording devices.

·         He should be able to have a reader and scribe for testing purposes.

·         He should have up to 100% extended time for testing and this should include those tests given by the College Board (administering the SAT) and ACT, Inc.  (Administering the ACT).

·         He should be kept on a very regular schedule, avoiding transitions and disruptions.

·         Directions should be made in short and clear commands.

·         Give the student only one task at a time.

·         Don’t over schedule – teach the student how to set priorities.

·         Well-established and understood daily plans will help the student to sequence his educational expectations, reducing anxiety.  Anxiety can decrease processing speed.

·         The pace of instruction for the student should not exceed his tolerance for intake.

·         Instruction should be repeated and non-verbal directions should be employed, as students with auditory speed deficits can often perceive spoken language as coming at them too fast to process correctly.

·         Peer and cooperative learning opportunities can assist the student since processing the information becomes a shared responsibility.

·         Assess authentically – considering the quality of the student’s work and not the quantity.

·         Allow the student to highlight in his textbook, allowing him to purchase all textbooks for this reason.

·         The student should be allowed to record class lectures, so that he has the time to review them at his own pace; or, he should be provided with a scribe.

·         The student should be encouraged to use any assistive technology afforded to him – as a start, research such online assistance as http://www.ncsu.edu/it/access/resources/at.php.

·         The student should be placed in a small group environment that matches his readiness for learning new material.

·         He must have direct instruction on those targeted weak skill areas identified in his most recent psycho-educational battery.  After school tutoring is the most desirable, as the “pull out program” has been proven to be unsuccessful in accomplishing the goal of academic advancement.

·         The student should be taught how to skim while reading – specific techniques are required and should be directly taught by the learning specialist in his school.  While improvement takes effort on The student’s part – the instruction must come from a person well-versed in reading methods.

·         Specific time to practice the development of reading and math fluency should be provided within the school day – not to interfere with the student’s ongoing curriculum. 

·         Faculty should cluster portions of the text and use paraphrased, shortened sections to provide for understanding when possible – eliminating overload of verbal input. 

·         Math manipulative should be used and with variety, especially when teaching new concepts.  This will also reduce an overload of verbal commands that often become jumbled for students with slow processing capabilities.

·         Model all math procedures – slowly. 

·         Revisit new vocabulary a minimum of 6 times in multiple ways to increase working memory capabilities.

·         Emphasize hand-son real-life learning for problem solving – which decreases the need for auditory input.

·         Specifically teach word processing and, in lieu of actual typing, introduce The student to “Dragon Speak” an assistive technology device that will record into text notes and writing assignments.  Once this system is set, it can help The student complete assignments in a fraction of the time once required.

·         Most importantly, The student should have access to guidance and counseling to provide emotional support – he must be encouraged to reach out for assistance, as learning to his potential is compromised by ADHD, general processing speed deficits, reading and math fluency, and working memory deficits.  This creates a tremendous burden for a young adult to carry alone.  The school must supply professional assistance in the form of a sensitive, trustworthy, and patient, individual that can coach The student in issues of self-advocacy and personal development. 

Merridee Michelsen, PhD
Assistant Headmaster – Internal Affairs
Director of Academics
Brandon Hall School
1701 Brandon Hall Drive
Atlanta, GA 30350

Editor's note: Different accommodations might apply to different students.  We recommend that before designing accommodations for any particular student you get input from a qualified expert, operating independently of your public school system, on the needs of that student.  Before committing yourself to a particular expert, be sure the person you are considering understands the issues  Merridee raises in this article.  Many otherwise competent educators and psychologists have not yet discovered this issue. 

However we strongly advise parents that we are confident that under federal and state laws in every state in the USA, children with significant discrepancies in processing speed as compared to other areas of intellectual ability are very likely eligible for accommodations quite similar to those listed even if the officials of that public school attempt to claim otherwise.  Parents should never accept the word of a public school official refusing accommodations as the final word on the matter. 

Links:

About Merridee Michelsen, Ph. D.

Return to Slow Processing Speed Index page

Return to Review of Brandon Hall School

Return to Topics of Interest Index page

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Last updated 9-3-2010; minor edits 2-12-11; Link to Brandon Hall School added 7-19-2011