The answer may be a Working Memory
difficulty!
But, how can my child have a memory
problem? He can remember the names of over 50 dinosaurs!
To answer this it’s best if we
first take a look at a simple model showing some of the different types of
memory.
Working Memory refers to the
ability to hold, manipulate and process information in our brain over a short
period of time; it can be known as our mental workspace or notepad (Sue
Gathercole 2008). On average, an adult cannot hold more than six or seven units
of information in working memory at a time; and this all depends on whether or
not the material to be remembered is organised in a meaningful way or not.
Difficulties with memory performance do not appear to be due to more general
factors such as language difficulties or a low IQ, but are very closely linked
to dyslexia; as it affects the pupil’s ability to retain and recall
phonological information.
Working Memory is one of the most
important indicators of academic success across the curriculum, specifically in
terms of maths and reading. Children may have very good 'Long Term Memory' (LTM) for
things they are interested in, places they have been etc, but still find it
incredibly difficult to remember what they have learned or to follow
instructions.
Working Memory is a significant
difficulty and affects an estimated 1 in 10 children.
That’s on average of 3 children in
every classroom! And typically affects more boys than girls.
However, it is surprising how often
this problem is overlooked and not fully understood by teaching staff or
healthcare professionals. The impact of a working memory deficit can have a
huge impact across the child’s entire school and personal life.
Below is a list of possible signs that
your child may have a Working Memory problem:
In general:
- Holding and manipulating instructions in the brain
is difficult
- They can usually be the last to carry out an
instruction
- They miss whole steps out of the instruction
- Long discussions may result in inappropriate /
disruptive behaviour
- Can get easily distracted by people talking around
them
In the classroom:
- After getting off to a good start in the task:
o
the child may start
‘zoning out’
o
Not finish at the same
standard
o
Work can be rushed and
finished early
o
May abandon task
half-way through
o
If the teacher
interrupts in middle to do a ‘check-in’, may not remember where to start again
o
Teacher more likely to
call their name to ‘hurry up’
- There may be differences in the level of work
depending on the amount of support / environment / time of day
- May have to shout out the answer before they forget
it
- Struggle to learn new vocabulary
- May struggle to do mental maths
- Fail to check work for careless errors
- May work better in a smaller group than whole-class
learning
- They may watch others around them a lot to work out
what to do
- Struggle to copy notes from the board
- Often get in trouble with peers for ‘getting the
rules of the game wrong’
- Difficulties navigating around the school
- Can read the words, but not able to tell you what
they have read
o
But when the word is read
to them, they understand it better
Classroom tasks that
place heavy demands on Working Memory:
- Following multi-step instructions
o
“after you have put
your pencil case in your tray with your spelling book, go and line up at the
door”
- Remembering sequences
o
Multi-step math
questions e.g. long multiplication
o
Timetables, days of the
week, months of the year
o
Remembering all
measurements of ingredients when you cannot see the recipe
- Problem solving activities
- Coursework
- Collecting the equipment needed for an activity
- Writing the date, title and learning objective
before starting the work
Information
can be lost from Working Memory when we are distracted by the environment
around us, noise and movement or when its limited capacity is overloaded. When
demands on the child’s Working Memory are too high, they may appear to be
distractible and have limited concentration.
It is important to remember that
children are often acutely aware of their memory difficulties – even from a
young age, so it is vital to support them as much as possible and to reduce any
anxiety they may have about forgetting things. If you are concerned about your child's memory difficulties please contact a Speech and Language Therapist or Psychologist.
Strategies on how to support Working Memory are coming up in the next blog! So stay tuned!
