Supermind Super Slow: Why?

Studies show the cognitive profile of students with Asperger Syndrome characteristic of slow processing when comparing with IQ matched neurotypicals. In my own experience, I recognize how my students have been struggling with slow processing issues.

One of the students that I meet once a week, is complaint by her parents and elder sister about her slowness. Conflicts often arise when they are going out together. She is late for classes, appointments with mental health professionals, friends, assignment, tests and so on.

Over time, she discovers that she is serious about her assignment and other commitments. Every time she misses the deadline, she will blame herself and try to figure out what else she should do better. An example is missing the deadline of an assignment that she is used to paying extra effort in order to outperform. Once her mind engaged with some unfinished businesses, her mental energy becomes overloaded and unable to maintain her focus on everyday performance.

As she finds it hard to communicate her thoughts and feelings, it becomes a vicious cycle that she misses more and more things and processes things even slower than before.

Honestly, it is so important to help these students identify various factors underlying the slow processing. Before recognizing the behavioral pattern of low productivity, factors maintaining slow processing of highly able Asperger students must be reviewed.

Those in transition to college are vulnerable. Therefore timely support to prevent academic and social underachievement is badly needed.

You Deserve Better Support by Jo

Source: http://www.enterrasolutions.com/2011/08/entrepreneurs-hares-versus-tortoises.html

 

A college student in need of advice for her overdue assignment came to see me last week.

Student: Are we (Aspergers) all the time struggling with homework problem?

Mentor Jo: Homework problems vary with individuals.

Student: I thought that Aspergers had problems with deadline. I hardly finished my work on time.

Mentor Jo: Oh yeah right. There are different deadline problems. Some cared so much about deadlines that they refused to take enough breaks and burnt out easily. In the long run, they hated that unpleasant experiences and refused to further their studies. Others viewed themselves as deadline fighter stretching their limits too far. As they went up to more advanced levels, such study habit didn’t make the achievement matching with their true potentials. Some were driven too much to their own standard of “perfection” and unable to deliver the expected outcomes as required. They missed their deadline. I also found some Asperger caught up with their worries or self blame. These negative emotions had taken away too much of their energy slowing down their mental processing. At the end of the day, they focused on their emotions without solving the problems at hand.

Student: It’s a matter of pace and direction (i.e. self focus versus task focus). Why is such a mismatch of pace?

Mentor Jo: It’s a good question. Sensitivity matters. To tackle such mismatch, it takes someone to appreciate neurodiversity and commit to maximizing potentials in individuals with different mind.

Student: I prefer thinking about the homework issues to doing it.

Mentor Jo: I know.  The thing is that you don’t like unfinished business. Let’s list a number of steps, including negotiating for extended time with your professor, that help you re-tune your processing speed and find increased confidence in getting things done.