Research abstract

Understanding Processing Speed and Dyslexia

Do you expect your child to immediately understand something that they are taught? Have you ever given thought to processing speed? If you answered yes to either of these then you might want to read more in this article about understanding processing speed and dyslexia. By DyslexicAdvantage.org

Laura Lurns Last updated January 17, 2017 · 1 min read

“Processing Speed” is a topic for testing that has some people surprised for reason involving dyslexia. These types of testing sometimes involve Coding or Symbol Searching on exams dealing with intelligence. It usually is the case that students dealing with dyslexia tend to score lower typically on these Processing Speed tests.

Although dyslexic students often score lower than typical students when it comes to processing speed, in real life and on decision making tasks, it is quite often found that students with dyslexia are much faster than peers at tasks involving problem solving and awareness of situations around them, such as in sports. This must be understood when deciding upon accommodations made in schools that will be appropriate for students.

Key takeaways

Understanding “processing speed difference” and Dyslexia.
Helps educators and parents recognize when a child may have a learning difficulty.
A student with Dyslexia may fall short in areas such as reading or mathematics but will excel in areas such as athletics.

Is your child struggling in school?

Get your free personalized learning roadmap

You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.

Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly

Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.

Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.

Get my free assessment & 7-day trial Cancel anytime during your trial.

Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.

A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.

Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert Writes about the learning brain for parents who want plain answers. Every article is grounded in current neuroscience and classroom practice.

Key takeaways

Is your child struggling in school?

Keep reading