Supporting working memory difficulties

Working memory difficulties affect many students and is the common challenge for many common learning differences like Dyslexia, ADHD and ASC.

Overcoming working memory difficulties can seem daunting at first and it certainly takes time and persistence to make any in roads.

For the open minded teacher there is a lot that can be done within their lesson delivery to help and support children who have working memory difficulties

1. One key thing is to make it acceptable to ask for instructions to be repeated.  As I explained in my last article working memory is limited and when it is overloaded the information is lost and can not be retrieved. If we get cross with a child for not listening we do not help the problem, we only force then to develop unhelpful strategies like copying or work avoidance.

2. Making information available as an individual paper copy using visuals, notes or bullet points is extremely helpful. This will give the child something to help them to focus and keep track of what is being said. Many teachers think it is enough to have the information on the white board but this can be just as inaccessible to a dyslexic child as the verbal information.

3. The teacher can prompt the child prior to the lesson about what to listen out for or ask them a specific question.  For example 'Today I am going to be talking about mammals, listen out for one of their characteristics" This encourages both active listening and encourages the child to listen out and filter what it said for key words rather trying listen to everything and becoming overloaded.

4. Preteaching of some concepts with concrete materials, using discovery learning or visuals may then give a child a chance to tune in and participate rather than swimming in a sea of words. We  know from our own experiences it is much easier to follow a conversation when we already know the subject matter.  If we join a conversation where people are talking about something unfamiliar it can take some time to tune in and we may even misunderstand initially.

Most teachers love to talk but often don't appreciate how much they say with out using visuals or resources to illustrate what they are saying.


5. Repeating instructions with a reduction of words increases the chance children with poor working memory retaining the whole instruction. The teacher can encourage the whole class to count and repeat the key words on their fingers and ask some children to repeat back what has been said.

6. Setting up class routines reduces the number of instructions that a child has to listen to and process. This leaves more energy for actual learning. 

For the child there are ways of training themselves to remember more of any information given verbally.

1. One of the most effective methods is encouraging children to verbalise what has been said out loud, it can be under their breath or in a quiet voice.  As the child says it they have an addition chance to process the words and pick out the key words.  Research has also found that we remember things said with our own voice more readily.

2. Children can be taught to visualise what is being said, again this needs training outside the classroom. If the child actively listens and creates a mental picture of what is being said it becomes more memorable.  Exaggerating the picture or making it funny can also help. 

Mnemonics for spellings and number facts can make use of both verbalising and visualising.

Some children need a structured programme, a speech therapist may be key in this delivering this. There is a well established programme called 'Visualizing and Verbalizing'
see http://lindamoodbell.com/program/visualizing-and-verbalizing-program for more information.

Older children can be trained to make notes and pick out key words, but this does need adult modeling first and practice outside the classroom.  Contrary to common belief, note taking is not an easy skill to master and it does need teaching. It also needs to taught a step at a time, first children need to work on listening to a sentence and picking out the key word or idea. They may need to discuss with an adult what makes a key word. It will take practice to filter out the extra words and focus in on the key word. Then they need to practice saying the key word to themselves and only writing this down. Dyslexic children can find it very hard to listen and write at the same time, drawings and diagrams can be a way round this. It may take several months to learn effective note taking.

At home, encouraging eye contact when speaking can help. Children often find it hard to divide their attention, if they are involved in other activities they may not actually be listening at all. This is often the cause of parental frustration and the need to repeat instructions again and again.  Asking your child to immediately repeat back what you have said can also be helpful in ensuring what you said has been heard and understood.

Again establishing routines and checklists can help.  Sometimes parents can be reluctant to use checklists at home as they want to be more relaxed and different from school. But as adults most of us rely to diaries, lists and written instructions so that we do not forget steps in a task or a series of jobs that need to be done.  Children need to be introduced strategies which will encourage them to be independent rather than needing adult prompting to remember.

All in all plenty of PATIENCE is needed as it takes time, encouragement and training to overcome working memory difficulties.