# Very, very slow 11 year old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060 "2016-04-13T03:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phoenix3733](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Phoenix3733](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoenix3733)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/1 "2016-04-13T03:56:50Z")
My granddaughter is very healthy and appears happy. She looks, acts, and moves like a 80 year grandmother. Any and everything she is asked to do takes her three times the normal person to perform. She is brite, performs well at school with prodding. She has very few people she talks to. She is easily distracted and prefers to stay home. She walks with her back curved and her hand on her face. We give her lots of love, support. There is 9 years between her and her sister. No other children. She loves animals, dislikes feminine/girl toys or games. She is often concrete or literal in her thinking. What can I do help her, I find myself trying ways to speed her up to accomplish BASIC things. I’m getting her up two hours before anything she needs to do in order to get out of the house in a timely manner. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/2 "2016-04-13T04:26:48Z")
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/3 "2016-04-13T05:43:41Z")
What does the doctor say? She might have back or other bone problems which, if ignored, will only get worse. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/4 "2016-04-13T06:57:21Z")
> [@Phoenix3733](#): > > She is brite. Is that irony? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/5 "2016-04-13T07:04:48Z")
It really does sound like a case for a paediatric specialist. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/6 "2016-04-13T09:37:14Z")
Please tell us you consulted a Dr before seeking the opinions of Internet strangers over your concerns about your daughter and her ways. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/7 "2016-04-13T10:27:34Z")
> [@Phoenix3733](#): > > . She walks with her back curved and her hand on her face. . Is she hiding in her shame as being lonely ?? A shy girl … all the team sports are probably not much good… perhaps swimming might be a good way to get her to strengthen up without injury and embarrassment or threat of being run over by the other girls… perhaps sailing. perhaps girl guides… dancing ? music ? violin ? can’t hide your face placing music, teachers her to hold her head up Something to give her a sense of pride and self worth and hold her back straight and head up. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/8 "2016-04-13T11:09:26Z")
Are the parents involved with her? I don’t mean to pry into your personal affairs but if the parents are actively seeking solutions perhaps you both could collaborate. I agree with PatrickLondon about first seeking medical assessment/diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/9 "2016-04-13T12:00:27Z")
Medical advice should have been sought long ago. The symptoms would surely have been apparent long before this unfortunate girl started school. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/10 "2016-04-13T12:01:57Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > … concerns about your daughter … Granddaughter. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/11 "2016-04-13T14:34:58Z")
Have you already ruled out a metabolic problem? Maybe an iron deficiency? My wife is extremely sluggish unless she takes iron supplements. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/12 "2016-04-13T15:32:23Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Please tell us you consulted a Dr before seeking the opinions of Internet strangers over your concerns about your daughter and her ways. Of course not. I think most people only ever post to an anonymous message board when they have medical concerns. What can a real in-person doctor tell you that a bunch of unqualified strangers can’t? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-very-slow-11-year-old/752060/13 "2016-04-13T16:26:44Z")
> [@Phoenix3733](#): > > My granddaughter is very healthy and appears happy. She looks, acts, and moves like a 80 year grandmother. Any and everything she is asked to do takes her three times the normal person to perform. She is brite, performs well at school with prodding. She has very few people she talks to. She is easily distracted and prefers to stay home. She walks with her back curved and her hand on her face. We give her lots of love, support. There is 9 years between her and her sister. No other children. She loves animals, dislikes feminine/girl toys or games. She is often concrete or literal in her thinking. > What can I do help her, I find myself trying ways to speed her up to accomplish BASIC things. I’m getting her up two hours before anything she needs to do in order to get out of the house in a timely manner. When I see stuff like this I think back to some of the questionable advice/concerns spouted by relatives about kids that turned out to be their own neuroses rather than actual problems with the kid. If she is doing well in school it’s unlikely there’s a mental dysfunction. When you say she walks with her “back curved” what _exactly_ do you mean? Be specific. It could be anything from a lazy kids slumping bad posture to scoliosis.