What Is Slow Processing Speed?

What is slow processing speed? Watch as our expert explains how we take in, and make sense of, information.

In this video, Ellen Braaten, PhD, Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Mass General, explains what slow processing speed is and how it affects kids. Also known as slow processing disorder, slow processing speed means it takes kids longer to get something done than their peers, according to Dr. Braaten. Kids with learning and thinking differences may have more trouble with slow processing speed than kids without these differences, says Dr. Braaten. Keep in mind, slow processing speed has nothing to do with intelligence.

Watch as Dr. Braaten explains what slow processing speed is, how it plays out in kids, common myths about information processing differences, and tips for parents to help their kids thrive.

Connect with UNDERSTOOD:
Copyright © 2019 Understood for All, Inc. All rights reserved.

[xxbambiixxduj]

I think I have been struggling with this since primary school, I was always put in small groups where teachers would allocate extra comprehension tasks that were really simple and repetitive. Getting older my friends and family would make fun of how slow I was at picking up and understanding things and completing tasks, and I developed really bad anxiety and panic attacks due to having so many embarrassing moments where I couldn’t understand social cues and other information quick enough, and even now I’m in college years and my teachers have actually started taking my book when copying down notes and doing it for me because I always hold up the class. It’s so embarrassing and humiliating, all my class sees me as the dumb girl and I hate the label and always feel the need to prove it wrong but I keep making the same mistakes. Now that I’m in teenage years going on to be a young adult, my mum thinks I’m just lazy or procrastinating. But I’ve always felt that it was abnormal how much I struggle with simple tasks and it really hurts that no one is understanding me

[julioathomas]

I never realized slow processing was a thing. I just believed some kids were faster learners than others.

[lreak]

Just watching this makes me feel like I wanna cry. I've known I have problems with this since I was pretty young, and it's still affecting me into my early 30's. It just makes /everything/ harder. It's so hard to keep up with a job, with this.

[bmylight]

Iam 24 and iam struggling at my work place due to this, as a student even though i was really slow in learning i tried so hard in understanding things but in the exams i was able to score because it gave enough time for me to think, bt in my work place where it requires spontaneous reactions i find it really hard to react to such situations the fear of constantly made fun of this gaves me anxiety, I cant handle pressure to the slightest i will forget even the little things and my mind goes just blank and i get anxious, I also have ADHD which could be the reason, For all the slow learners out there . The struggle is real, Ik bt u are no alone❤

[DaniSmith_]

I was never diagnosed with a information process disorder but i know i have one, probably the reason i wasn't successful academically back when i was still in school, when ever i want to retain some new information i have to constantly review it otherwise i will struggle recalling the details of what i just learned.

[Couregeouscounseling]

I think it's interesting that in school, students can get accommodations, but after school or college, it's like it's not discussed anymore. It doesn't go away. People forget that this is how someone's brain may be wired. We are all different. The environment and support systems play a major role. There are ways to develop supporting skills, but with anything new, it will take time.

[margicates]

Just got my diagnosis of autism and slow processing of information.

I feel like I’ve worked my whole life just to keep up, and like I’ve had so many humiliations because I misunderstood the cues.

It’s hard to admit I need more time. It’s hard to admit I can’t keep up.
I was always hiding my confusion and ineptitude with jokes and excuses.
“ yes, you’re right! What a silly mistake, I’ll try harder.”
But I knew in my gut that I wasn’t going to get any better at the thing they were trying to teach me.

It’s funny, to not have to hide anymore.

[shavigautam]

That's me with SPD and I am still so vulnerable due to the way society reacts to it.
I admire my pace because it has provided it a lot of knowledge about things as I have a very good observational skill.And I love my pace.
But it hurt a lot when people make it more hard for us by mocking the quality we got.

[uajw]

This affected me all throughout school. When in elementary I was in I always got pulled out of class and put in a room with a few other stundents and we would practice writing and comprehension skills and simple math problems. Then when I got to high school it all went down hill. I never understood what I had to do when everyone else picked up on it quick, the teachers always told me I will not pass if I did not to my work because they came around and nothing was on my paper. I failed all my classes two years and had to go to an alternative school my last year. Even today after I graduated people tell me bad things though. Someone in my family told me I don’t know if you are acting stupid to be funny or if you actually are. When I go to doctors a few years ago they tell me I have add

[folafoluwaasabi]

My parents should watch this
I can't even say much
I just need them to see this
I've been trying so hard
I'm doing a research on myself and why I'm so slow and I saw this you

[Kataxu]

I'm 36, and I guess this is what I have. A bit of ADHD and attention/focus issues, but the biggest and most primary issue of it all is auditory. When people speak to me, I process the information very slowly, and sometimes not at all. I had a bad experience today trying to understand what someone was saying, and re-examining the situation over and over again in my head, several parts of the memory are blurry and foggy because I didn't understand what this person was saying. Perhaps it was my stress and anxiety level exacerbating an already difficult task. I wish I knew what to do.

[LovelyProductionsIsLovely]

I have this. I just turned 18 and I really wish I could have gone to a professional to talk to them about this to maybe give me more tips on how to deal with it. I kinda struggle with both sides of it. I struggle more with motor though. I've been especially self-conscious about it recently because I found out a lot of adults in my life in elementary school told my mom that they don't believe I'm fit for college. That hurts because I know I'm smart. I'm just not fast. I know I can make it through college as long as I put in the work and time I know I need to put into it.

[andje_izidor_music]

I've been struggling with slow processing speed since primary school and I've always been accused of being lazy.

[donnylincoln]

leaning disablity is a life long Brain Issue..it will never go away...I have struggled and struggled with is all my life...I have Wanted to go to Collage..and have gone..but to NO Avail..it didn't worked...But I do have to admit..I come along way..doing things that were uncomfortable..and Have Learned a lot on my own...it is So Frustrating at times..am 58 years old..and Still Learning Stuff that adult my age have learned Long Ago..but that is ok..but at least I am learning and didn't and won't stop..my favorite hobby is Yep Reading...

[eggypatrick]

Im a junior in high school right now, I’m in class and we would have an assignment due by the end of class, the other kids would turn in the assignment in 15 minutes and I always am the last one to turn in the assignment, everyone else will be waiting for me to get done so the teacher could move on, eventually the teacher sends me out into the hallway to complete the assignment while everybody else could move on, then I get caught in this endless cycle of falling behind and having to go to tutoring everday after school. Teachers and students think that I’m just lazy and I wasn’t doing my work, in fact it’s the opposite, I’m working insanely hard to keep my grade from dropping below a 70. My parents haven’t gotten me any accommodations yet, so school is twice as hard for me. I’m glad I know I’m not crazy.

[notsnikko]

No wonder I was taking more time on assignments than my peers throughout my days in school and then all the way throughout highschool and even into undergraduate years. I was diagnosed young and still was diagnosed with this in my recent years. Still, throughout my evaluation there were some things that "make up" for this mental disability and allowed me to achieve high grades. Don't falter people, believe in your strengths!

[wendywhoisit]

Why are they always referring to a child with slow processing, can adult not have it? Or are adult's struggles and feelings not relevant?

[irenepeyter]

I’m a freshman in university. As long as I can remember, it took me a bit longer to complete assignment than most kids. I knew I wasn’t a fast thinker or doer. But now in univ, I’m struggling to do the heap of hw. I know I’m smart but I’m just not fast enough... I don't know if I will be able to pull through even with an average grade.

[mythoughts]

This has affected me since childhood. And add anxiety as well PTSD. I am in my early 50's and when it comes to learning new computer programs and other things, let alone compared to the 20 something's, it is extremely difficult.

[samsamsamsamsamanilla]

I'm in a family with extremely FAST processing speed so in comparison it makes me feel SLOW