Slow Processing, What Does That Mean?

I can tell you from experience what it is because I'm a slow processor.

But it's on my mind, because I was having a conversation with a good friend whose child was having some difficulty in school. So what was happening was that she would freeze up and get embarrassed and frustrated. And her mom was trying to understand why that was.

So what happens when we, as myself, are sometimes slow processors, means that the information that we want to get out, what we want to explain, how we want to react in form, is slower than for other people. So the brain is just slower getting that information out. I often explain it like a mill wheel, where the water is going around at a steady pace. For many people that's manageable, and the water keeps going and moving along, but for others, that's too much, their wheel is slower, it literally just goes in a slower way.

This has nothing to do with intelligence, which is the hardest part for these students. It doesn't mean that they don't have a fantastic idea, or an opinion that they want to give, it doesn't mean that they can't calculate the math problem, it just means that they do it at a slower pace. But imagine in school where everything is timed, how fast can you complete something, when can you put your hand up in the air, what is your discussion, and how can you articulate your answer.

When everything is judged that way, slow processing in school is really frustrating for these students. And they feel slow and they feel stupid. And I often explain as I did to my friend that that is completely not the case. In fact, slow processors are able to add so much in different ways. They're often the ones that are more observant because they're looking around, and because they take time with their ideas. Sometimes they articulate them in beautiful and intelligent ways. They're often the ones that might be behind when they're younger, literally behind looking at the path that they're walking with their kindergarten class.

There's so many wonderful qualities to slow processing, but often those aren’t qualities that we always need in school. So the way it presents in school can be really hard on a child's self esteem, and an adult on their self esteem.

But it's just important to remember that it has absolutely nothing to do with capability. And often, the upside of slow processing is this wonderful, observant, empathic kind of learner and person.

So the next time you're seeing someone, maybe your own child is slow processing, try to turn it and explain it in a more positive light because there are a lot of gifts to it as well.