Melissa Mullin, Ph.D.

Melissa Mullin earned her Ph.D in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Learning and Instruction from the University of California at Los Angeles.  As  the Director of the K & M Center in Santa Monica, CA. Melissa has been helping students, and their parents, learn for over 20 years.

Bits of wisdom pass by Melissa’s desk everyday. Parents email and call with new research they find and questions they want her to answer. She continues to learn from both the insights parents share with her and from the ideas she gets while answering their questions. This blog is created to share that wisdom with all.

Dr. Mullin provides expert advice in the following areas:

  •  Identification of Learning Disabilities
  • Characteristics distinct to children who have learning challenges
  • Parenting skills to help struggling students
  • Interventions for students with learning issues

If you would like Melissa to answer your question just click the green comment bubble to post it in the comment section below. Melissa will do her best to answer your question and she may use it as a post so other parents can learn more about learning challenges many children face.

 

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

45 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Leanne

Dear Melissa,

I would love your thoughts regarding the following student:

A student, now in Grade 10 immigrated from an Asian country 4 years ago and has struggled to acquire the English language and show any progress in her literacy (Grade 1 level) though her maths skills are grade appropriate. Recent cognitive testing (WAIS IV) revealed the following:

Verbal Comprehension Index – 72 (though when the questions were translated in her native language- her VCI was 95)
Perceptual Reasoning Index – 92
Woking Memory Index – 74
Processing Speed – 100

I suspect that working memory plays a strong role in language acquisition and therefore part of her difficulties is related to this. How can we best support this student in her learning?

Thanks in advance for your expertise Melissa.

Leanne

Thanks so much for your helpful response Melissa. I really appreciate the time you took responding to my question. I forgot to mention that her Working Memory skills were the same when assessed in her native language.

Marsha Gosselin

Hi my son is 17 years old and was recently tested at the school. His verbal comprehension was a 91 which was in the average range and working memory was borderline. My son also has auditory processing disorder. See subtest scores

Verbal Comprehension Scaled Score 7 Low Average
Verbal Comprehension Index Score 7 Low Average
Digit Span Score 6 – Borderline
DS Forward Score 4 – Very Low
DS Backward Score 8 Low Average
DS Sequencing 6 Borderline
Working Memory Index 6 Borderline
Letter Number Sequencing – Low Average
Coding 4 – Very Low

I was hoping you could give me suggestions on how to help my son. Will a speech pathologist be able to address his low scores? All of his other tests were in the average range.

Ron

Hi Melissa,

My son is 15.5 years old and is in 10th grade. He is performing way below his abilities in school. Speaking with experts was frustrating, because they explained about the tests they can do (and we have done some tests when he was 10 years old) but I was never able to understand what would be the next steps and we can help him (other than using medications). I believe that he has the inattentive type of ADHD (no hyperactivity). We leave in the SF area and I understand that you do not work in this area. Do you have any recommendation for me?

Dora

Hi Melissa, my 6 years old daughter has high iq and low processing speed and low auditory memory with high visual memory. I’m told that the first 3 can be sign of dislexia and autism, maybe other things as well. With these skills she is average at school.
Should I insist to see an educational psychologist or what would you recommend?
Is she too young or is it best to start working with her the earlier possible?

Cindy

Dr. Mullin – I am an Orton-Gillingham tutor. I work at a private school but was approached yesterday by a very frustrated parent trying to find help for her public school child. He was tested by the school system and received the following scores: VCI – 96, PRI -94, WMI – 68 and PSI – 80. There is no diagnosis on the psychological. He has frequent migraines as well as strep and has missed a lot of school. He has a doctor’s diagnosis and doctor’s excuses but the school will not give him an IEP only a 504 because of his many absences. The 504 for the migraines includes extra time and that’s it. He appears to be reading on a 1st grade level. The public school is offering no help. I am trying to give them some direction. This is a young man who has received the Citizenship Award 2 years straight. He can tell you in detail anything you want to know about reptiles. He has a love of learning but is limited by not being able to read and write. I am shocked and disappointed that a public school system would offer this student nothing more than a band-aid of a 504 plan and not offer him a plan to improve his reading. Do you have any insight or opinion of what I can share with this mother that might encourage the school system to come through? This is a sad situation with an urgent need…

Jeanine

Hi Melissa – My son’s school is happy with his progress but, having my own reservations I had an Ed Pshyc evaluation done. His composite IQ scores range from ‘superior’ to ‘low average’, with the highest being Verbal Comprehension at 126 while Processing Speed is lowest at 85. Working Memory is 99. I was wondering if it would be possible to email you his report for a second opinion on what to do next / advice that we can pass on to the school? If so please advise cost etc.

peggy

I want to thank you for this sight, it is wonderful! My son is 12, 6th grade and just diagnosed with dyslexia, disorder with impairment in Written expression and ADD. He took several test,below are the WISC -V

VCI – 111
Similarities 13 84%
Vocabulary 11 63%
VSI – 108
Block design 10 50%
Visual puzzle 13 84%
FRI – 128
Matrix Reasoning 15 95%
Figure weights 15 95%
WMI – 112
Digit span 11 63%
Picture span 13 84%
PSI – 98
Coding 12 75%
Symbol search 7 16%
FSIQ – 118

Reading fluency 25%

I am trying to figure out how to interpret discrepancies in the subtest scores. Your blog was the first sight I found that explained that I should have my son tested for tracking because there’s a variance between Coding and Symbol Search. Is there a website that explains what each subtest is testing or a website that correlates the WISC V, KTEA-III, GORT-V, BODER, and TOVA . My son is frustrated and is beginning to show signs of completely giving up. I am afraid if I don’t have an understanding of what the problem is, he will spend time with specialist /tutors without much improvement and he will give up. The psychologist that did the testing was more interested in treating the ADD (which I don’t think he has) and her only advice for dyslexia was to read more. Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

DeborahB

I was glad to find your website. The information is well written and helpful. My son seems to have the frustration profile. He has an average verbal skill score (VCI = 100) but his processing speed score is extremely low. I am in the process of working with our school to put interventions in place for him. I never thought about the possibility of the act of writing being difficult for him. The neuropsychologist that did the testing recommended having a word processor and Dragon software.

Todd

Hi Melissa, Thank you for the website and assistance to so many concerned parents. My son, Harry, is 9 years old and was tested several years ago in Atlanta. His processing was below average, IQ in the normal territory. He struggles with simple tasks such as tying shoes, eating without making a mess, forgetfulness. Socially, he struggles to keep up a conversation with kids his own age and usually gets left out of games and ends up playing with kids a couple of years younger. I’ve coached him in sports and always recognize he is a step behind. In basketball, while on offense, he will be guarding his opponent. He seems to be a relatively smart kids, good at chess and other mental games. He’s a good baseball pitcher, but if playing the field, he cannot process quickly enough where to go with the ball. I also notice he gets super focused on things like the weather. I need to go back and get his test scores, but just wondering how we can further clarify what his needs are and how much we can improve these issues. It kills me to see him upset because kids don’t want to play and they are more mature. Any suggestions would be a great help Thanks, Todd

Anna

My daughter who is 8 years 1 month old has struggled in school and at home, and was recently evaluated by a psychologist for several things. She was diagnosed with severe depression and mild anxiety. It was not conclusive but the evaluation suggests that she either has a LD or Inattentive ADHD. I’ve formally requested that her school perform a further evaluation to determine whether there is a LD. I meet with the school in a couple weeks where they will determine if they are going to do an evaluation. The initial evaluation done by the psychologist gave the following results:

Processing Speed 78
IQ 80
Verbal Comp 83
Working Memory 83
Perceptual Reasoning 92

Sentence Comp 78
Math Computation 90
Spelling 92
Word Reading 96

Her academic achievement scores weren’t too bad. And that’s how her grades seem to be also…around B’s. But her intellectual functioning skills were low. I’m worried that the school won’t want to conduct the assessment because her academic achievement scores aren’t low. It seems like my daughter can get scores to barely get her by, but it takes her a lot of effort and thinking to get there. Is it strange that she has such low intellectual functioning skills but can achieve just slightly below average academic achievement scores? Any suggestions on how to best handle the meeting with the school to get a formal evaluation completed?

Sera Johnston

Hi Melissa, Our daughter is aged 16 and we are from the UK. She has finished school and is currently in 6th form until 18 and then going to university. In 6th form she studies Law, Business Studies, Phycology and Drama and settled in really well. Academically she achieved good grade in school. She has cerebral palsy affecting her mobility (walks with sticks) and was assessed by an educational phycologist a few years ago resulting in an increase in time for taking exams.

I am really worried as the head of 6th form has stated my daughter is struggling in Business and Phycology achieving below expected grades and have threaten to remove her from these subjects. Yet in Law she is achieving a distinction. I truly believe it is how she is being taught and she has mentioned there is so much information to take in. The 6th form are not accepting her disability is affecting her processing and retaining the information.

I was interested in reading your articles and mention editing skills, this has never been mentioned to us nor taught. I really feel starting 6th form has uncovered so many issues and I don’t know the best way to help her. She is bright and I know by having an understanding and installing the right strategies she can fulfil her academic ability yet the school are insistent she can’t manage and cope and I should accept this. The school are not taking my concerns seriously. Can you advise on what assessment is best for her?

My worry is also for university when she attends lectures and by not getting the right strategies in place will jeopardise her future.

Thank you

Melissa Bouzianis

Hi Melissa, I am wondering if you would know which colleges help students with slow processing speed. The volume of reading can be overwhelming and I suspect some students may benefit from “under loading” meaning taking a lighter load each semester. Can you recommend any schools that would allow this?
Thanks, Melissa

Lyn

My son was diagnosed with a Neurodeveloopmental Disorder after being tested. His verbal score was superior, nonverbal high average, working memory average and processing speed deficient. I read your articles on processing speed but what does neurodevelopmental disorder mean? So thankful for your website. I wish I had stumbled upon it before now.

Jake

Hi Melissa, Our daughter, aged 17 is in her final year of school, and she is currently struggling a lot with her tests and exams and getting very low scores (failing in tests). In 10th grade we realized that she was weak in Mathematics and therefore we did not take Math as a subject in 11th & 12th grades. Now however, science subjects also seem to be too difficult for her. We just got an aptitude test done for her, which we intend to use to find out her underlying aptitudes and send her for the appropriate course in college. The scores are as below. I would like to get your valuable assessment on the results and suggest the best career choices for her:

1. General Intelligence : 105
2. Verbal Aptitude : 117
3. Numerical : 96
4. Spatial : 112
5. Form Perception : 121
6. Clerical perc : 124
7. Speed & Motor coord : 135
8. Verbal intelligence percentile rank : 85
9. Non Verbal intelligence percentile rank : 85
10. Interest tests (consider scores above 75)
a. Outdoor : 20
b. Mechanical : 75
c. Computational : 10
d. Scientific : 50
e. Persuasive : 45
f. Artistic : 65
g. Literary : 55
h. Musical : 90
i. Social service : 30
j. Clerical : 45
11. Personality tests (lower the better)
a. Home : 25
b. Health : 15
c. Social : 10
d. Emotional : 23

Thank you very much in advance for all your suggestions. We are mainly trying to identify the best courses that she can pursue in college, that will keep her interested and will also provide good opportunity for employment and career growth.

DeLane

My son has been diagnosed with significant slow processing speed, mild ADD, mild Dyslexia and Executive function issues such as circumlocution, and dysgraphia. He was diagnosed at the end of third grade and received tutoring through middle school. He then refused further help and his natural intelligence has carried him through his freshman year of college, but he is hitting the wall. 1.Will his processing speed testing results from middle school still be valid for requesting extra testing time in college ie, is this something that stays basically unchanged? 2. What is the best way to find someone who is experienced in Executive Function matters to provide some assistance?

Kay Gosnell

My son has been tested by school psychology and found that he had a high processing speed he also has a high IQ but he is having difficulty in reading comprehension in school. Docs have said he doesn’t have ADD/ADHD. I would please like information on the best way to help him with this problem.

Kevin

Hi Melissa,

My daughter took WISC IV at 9 years and 9 months. I didn’t notice anything “not right” until when she prepares for some standard tests (SSAT). She always has lower score on reading comprehension than math. I guess it is kind of “natural” based on her WISC test. But what bothers me the most is that she keeps repeating the same mistakes in practice tests (reading AND math). This “making same mistake” behavior seems to be across board for all things she is doing – academic, music, sports. I can tell that she tried hard to fix it. Is this behavior also kind of “inherent” per her WISC test? Does her WISC indicate any potential learning issues that I need to follow up with additional test? By the ways, she seems to be doing fine in school, a straight “A” student.

Thanks a lot for your help

Kevin
————
Verbal Comprehension 116 86%
Perceptual reasoning 137 99%
Working Memory 113 81%
Processing Speed 136 99%
Full Scale 134

Similarities 12
Digit Span 13
Vocabulary 16
Letter-number sequencing 12
Comprehension 11
Arithmetic (S) 18
Information (S) 16
Block design 14
Picture concepts 15
Coding 17
Matrix reasoning 19
Symbol search 16

Jane Evans

I read on one of your other replies (can’t find it now) that when there’s a big discrepancy among the processing speed subtests this often indicates a fine motor issue. My daughter (14) has no problem accessing the curriculum but the rate at which she produces written work (math, english, science, whatever) has always lagged her peers and now it’s really a huge problem. Her scores for Processing Speed came out Coding 8, Coding Copy 6, Symbol Search 13, Cancellation 12. The tester suggested we might look into fine motor issues, but her handwriting is lovely and she draws beautifully. Can a child have a fine motor problem that manifests itself in slow production but not in quality? I noticed that you recommend RetrainTheBrain – would that be likely to help in this case? Also, have you looked at Callirobics (which seems very similar but is cheaper)?

Jenny

Hi Melissa,
I am busy mum to 3 great boys, 10,9 and 7. My eldest has benign epilepsy and is currently with Cahms. He has recently had a wisc test, 3rd percentile, full score of 72…
Verbal 16th percentile, perceptual reasoning 2nd percentile, Memory 13th percentile, processing speed at 4th percentile. – if this matters with education, surely it matters at home the same.
His behaviour at home is scary. He is a good kid, but when something is bothering him, he is horrid to siblings and goes to extreme behaviour. As he is good at school Cahms say his behaviour isn’t consistent to be on the ASD/autism scale. He gets aggressive and frustrated and dosnt have a sleep pattern. Cahms said it was his epilepsy at first, now they are saying its down to behaviour/ learning difficulty, not a disability as its 72 and not 70…..why is everything so hard, and where to start getting some help. Been with cahms for 14 months now and still waiting.
He only has one year in primary and been told not to statement from local education authority as they are talking about putting him in a unit am, mainstream school afternoon. More things for us as parents to worry about, never mind my little man.

Karen Hudson

I need guidance on how to help my child the best I can. He has undergone several tests and has been moved from chapter 504 to special ed. The tests have all be inconclusive they put mismatched information that dose not make sense to me and I am getting very frustrated. His processing speed is at an 81 and that has been consistent in all of his tests. They want to leave him in special ed under emotional disturbance and under that anxiety. I feel that is an inaccurate assessment and want to push it further. What kind of questions do I need to ask and how can I push this without causing more problems.

Jeanie Beal

Does your program work with children with autism!

Barbara Fahey

Hi Melissa,

Our 16 year old daughter has struggled in school starting in 7th grade. She was diagnosed with ADD inattentive and anxiety and is on medication for these issues. Her WISC test results from 6th grade were VC 116, PR 98, WM 110 and PS 78. We got her a 504 to allow extra time on tests and assignments but she gets overwhelmed with the volume of homework and keeps falling farther behind on assignments from the start of each semester. We have gotten her a tutor who is working on mind mapping and organizational skills which seems to be helping. She is a passionate singer songwriter and support her in this interest through music camps, instruments etc. We want her to at least get a high school diploma and have the opportunity to major in music at a community college. However she has mostly D’s and F’s and so graduating from high school is not assured. We’re wondering if she should have additional testing and if so which tests and if there’s anything else we should be doing to help her.