The slow learner is generally considered as a student who achieves a full-scale score between 70 to 85 (or 89) on formal IQ testing. This range of IQ is thus considered as a borderline intellectual disability (cognitive impairment) or low average intellectual capability.
Slow learner is a term that is sometimes used for low-ability students with an IQ between 70 and 85. These individuals make up approximately 14.1% of the population, larger than the group of children with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and autism combined.
Slow learners are children whose IQ ranks between 70 - 90%. Their educational attainment is less than 80% of what is normal for their age. However, they are not mentally challenged. They are low in achieving academic skills and often ignored as a part of the school setting, being considered dull and lazy.
It is important for these students to understand that just because they learn at a slower pace than others, does not mean that they are not smart. In fact, many famous people have struggled with being slow learners, including Albert Einstein and Steven Spielberg. Read also: 19 Easy ways to increase your brain power.
Souza's study demonstrated that an individual with an IQ of 126 or higher can often learn in one hour what it would take someone with an IQ in the standard range 4-5 hours to learn. This means that gifted people can truly read and understand faster than an average person.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, often simply called ADHD, is a common condition that impacts many children and adults. In some people, slow processing speed (taking longer than others to complete tasks or thoughts) is an indicator of ADHD.
The impact of ADHD on IQ
Even though ADHD and high IQ do coexist, ADHD symptoms can interfere with IQ testing. A 2015 study of 4,771 pairs of twins demonstrated the connection between ADHD symptoms and lower IQ scores. ADHD can also interfere with individual areas of performance, such as executive functioning.
Just as having a high IQ doesn't ensure success, having an average or low IQ doesn't ensure failure or mediocrity. Even if you have what is considered a low IQ, you may be smart in many other ways and have many other talents and abilities that aren't reflected on a single test.
Although IQ differences between individuals have been shown to have a large hereditary component, it does not follow that disparities in IQ between groups have a genetic basis.
Slow processing speed is not a formal learning disability, but it can play a part in learning and attention issues like dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD), dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and auditory processing disorder.
And that means that, at least in a roundabout way, parents cause slow processing speed in their children. Slow processing speed is most frequently the result of genetics. In all likelihood, either you, your child's other parent, or a close biological relative has had difficulty with processing information efficiently.
There are different types of causes of slow learning. Among these, low intellectual abilities such as sub-normal IQs, some personal factors, psychological factors, environmental factors etc are very common causes of slow learning.
a) Learning disabilities are heterogeneous conditions, but are defined by 3 core criteria: lower intellectual ability (usually defined as an IQ of less than 70), significant impairment of social or adaptive functioning and onset in childhood. the DSM-IV term 'mental retardation' with 'intellectual disability'.
It is possible, for example, to inherit all the higher IQ genes from each parent and leave the lower IQ ones behind. Now the child will be brighter than the parent. And of course the opposite is possible as well resulting in a child with a lower IQ than expected.
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. Popular legend indicates that he was a slow learner, learning to speak much later than average. Elementary school records show he was a gifted child, particularly in maths, physics, and violin playing.
Elon's IQ is estimated to be around 155, while Albert Einstein's is 160. With such a slight margin, Musk is undoubtedly an incredibly smart person. Who is the smartest person on earth in 2022? Born in 1975 in Adelaide, Australia is a mathematician, Terence Tao with an IQ score of 230.
For example, birth trauma, metabolic conditions, or head injuries may affect the working of the brain. Our brains also change in response to exposure. Children from educationally enriching homes tend to score higher on IQ tests [1]. Prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol can have an impact on intelligence.
Can IQ change with age? Yes. However, there is heavy debate over exactly how IQ and intelligence change with age. Studies have demonstrated that a person's fluid intelligence tends to decrease starting in their late 20s, while their crystallized intelligence tends to increase as they grow older.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do. People with ADHD do think differently though, in a sense.
Misdiagnosis is not uncommon when high IQ and ADHD collide. Very bright children who are also highly active are sometimes misdiagnosed with ADHD. On the other hand, some highly intelligent children with ADHD can focus on things that interest them for an extended period of time, which can lead to misdiagnosis as well.
The social behavioural pattern of slow learning children is mostly immature and unstable. They lack judgement and can sometimes get aggressive about petty issues. They are self-conscious, tend to daydream a lot and love to spend time in solitude or in the company of younger children.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.
Slow Learner is a term used to refer to those students who have an intelligence quotient (IQ) below average. Their learning abilities develop at a much slower rate than other kids of their age. Can you imagine, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Winston Churchill were slow learners?