His grades are fine. But it's taking a lot of time and effort to keep them high due to the processing speed. He's already on the ADHD meds, which has helped. He loves many aspects of school like choir, Model UN, and sports, and does not want to homeschool at all, so he's definitely staying in school. But it is a slog for him and some weeks are better than others, so I was hoping there might be something I missed that would help improve the processing speed. It might just be about not overscheduling and learning to cope at this point. It kind of sucks though that so much of school success is about processing and responding quickly since that is not a skill that responds well to interventions (at least not that I've seen or found yet).

Does anyone know of successful or research-based interventions for slow processing speed? I went back and re-read all of Bright Kids Who Can't Keep Up and there is literally nothing in that book that we have not already implemented. Slow processing speed is Ds1's biggest issue at a college prep private high school. His dyslexia/dysgraphia is what we would all consider remediated - he types fluently, his spelling is post-high school level, vocabulary now scores in the excellent range, he writes essays well with good organization and voice, etc. The issue is just that it is SO hard for him to keep up with the workload because every single assignment takes him 5x as long with processing speed in the single digits. Even simple assignments in math can take hours because of think time. He is in an incredible support program within his school that is basically Landmark School's Universal Design for Learning and I have full confidence in the LRC teacher that oversees his entire education there. But this high school will not reduce workload since they follow a college-prep policy and colleges do not change workload based on LD or documentation. In college, however, he could take fewer classes at a time if necessary, and I am still working with the teacher to determine the best course of action for next semester. But it's frustrating to have worked so hard on dyslexia interventions that succeeded and to find that the slow processing speed is really the beast causing difficulty in high school now. Thoughts?

This was exactly my son's experience. Also some similarities to San Diego Mom's experiences. My son started the ADHD meds this summer at 15 and they have made a huge difference for him. They aren't a magic pill that makes ADHD disappear, but they do help so much.

Ok, thanks. This is helpful. My ds is not set on any certain college yet, but I will do some investigating on which colleges might be more learning disability friendly towards accommodations and/or waivers.

We just re-did older ds' full neuropsych report. No real big surprises, other than some issues resolved (fine motor delay) and others were clarified (processing speed is its own learning disability now). My bigger question is regarding his overall profile. Ds received a HUGE foreign language waiver for all foreign language at both the high school and college level. Has anyone used this accommodation? How did it affect entrance to college? We used a Seattle area neuropsych who said he himself had a foreign language waiver and he never took foreign language at all. How would that kind of waiver even be submitted on college applications?

NM. I'm not up on all the providers offering the test online. We only offer it in person.

We offer the Strong Interest Inventory and I think it is the most powerful career test I've seen. It correlates your interests with the interests of those who report they are very happy in their careers 5+ years in. It also considers preferences for schooling when generating careers, so it won't tell someone who hates school to go become a doctor. It is often offered through colleges or private counselors because the school or counselor is required by the test provider to offer counseling with the test results for guidance.

Ds *might* return to private school next year for various reasons. Unfortunately, the school does not offer the foreign language he has been taking while homeschooling this year and I'd prefer not to lose his progress if possible. Has anyone successfully continued additional classes through homeschooling or afterschooling that they were able to add onto a college application for admissions purposes? The high school would be willing to waive the foreign language requirement for graduation since they do not offer the language, but I'd be responsible for proving that proficiency was achieved outside of school for college admissions. He could potentially take the SAT II also, but I'm trying to figure out how I would document or otherwise indicate that he had taken German 1-4 (or wherever he ends up) through a private online provider. Does the transcript even matter if he tests well on a subject test or is it important that his record reflect the classes taken too? I realize this may be college specific, but I'm trying to get a general idea so we can decide if he should continue in this language or start over with a different foreign language next year.

It's now required in WA for high school graduation. Obviously, homeschooling is its own set of laws though. I think the trend is going to be towards requiring FL in high school. Not to mention even many state colleges require 2-3 years of FL for admission. I'm not sure how to get around that with a waiver. I get that you might use a waiver where graduation is concerned, but wouldn't colleges just refuse to admit without it? OP: Have you considered sign language? I know several dyslexic students have been successful using sign language for the FL college admissions requirement.

This is so true. The high schools are buckling under NCLB and since they are not required to serve the upper end of students as they are the lower, they are passing the task onto the CCs. If it isn't required under the definition of "basic education" the school can eliminate the course legally and tell students to move on to DE if they need the class for college admission. It's frustrating as a parent to watch it unfold.

I guess my opinion differs, but we're actually choosing a school that is 45 minutes away for next year, so yes, obviously I think there are some schools that are worth it. For us, there is a morning shuttle and we're only 20? minutes away from the shuttle drop off. We'll also only be doing the drive for 1 year. After that, my son will have his driver's license prior to the next school year, we'll get him a cheap reliable car, and he can drive himself for the last three years. Another factor for us is that we live in a major metro area and many people, both students and adults, have significant commutes. It's just a fact of life. The better opportunities often require a drive across part or all of the city.

Oh my goodness, yes. I honestly thank my lucky stars that I was a teacher before kids because I knew how it *should* be. With both my boys being dyslexic, almost everything is hard. IRL, no one understood how I KNEW at 5 or 6 that they were dyslexic, and it was simply from teaching NT kids and spending hours around typically developing children. I'm so glad you are having a great experience tutoring!

Actually, one of the biggest new trends in public school education is "standards based learning" and students do indeed have the opportunity to retake tests and redo papers until they have mastered the concepts. Consequently, PS students also have the opportunity to achieve mostly As if they so desire and put in the work. I would not worry about it even a little bit. You're probably presenting just as accurate of a picture as PS grades do. 😉

It is a national program, but only at certain small airports so I think it can be challenging to find a chapter locally. Yes, we are lucky to have one near us!

This high school journey is getting more real for older ds. Basically, we have to make some decisions relating to next year's schooling that either place him on a path for AP in science and math or in prerequisites for dual enrollment credit. His current plan is to major in aerospace engineering at a major state university, such as Ohio State or Georgia Tech. I don't think he has the desire to try for Ivy League or extremely competitive schools (and I'm not sure he'd have the test scores anyway, although he might with accommodations). We definitely won't bother with APs in humanities. It's too much of a time suck for elective credits. What about math and science? Did your 2E engineering students do well with AP exams? Was the testing and timing just too much stress and work? Would dual credit be a better option? Ds has a high degree of accuracy in his work and strong depth of material and conceptual knowledge , but he is SLOW. I'm concerned about AP, both coursework pacing and test, in terms of how much time it will take him to study. Thoughts? What worked best for your 2E engineering students?