Working Memory Deficit

[Anonymous]

Is there ANYTHING that can be done to help kiddos improve their working memory?

DD is dyslexic has a profound working memory deficit. Despite having average to high average scores in most other areas in her psych eval the working memory is a huge issue for her. It spills into everything academically. DD is a hard worker and "gets there" with a lot of repetition. It's so much work for her fortunately she is disciplined and a hard worker so she is willing to put in the time to repeat the information and concepts until she drills it in but it adds so much more work for her so she is constantly playing catch up at school and in life. She already works with an ASDEC tutor and a math tutor that know that she needs repetition but just wondering if there are any other ways to help her strengthen her working memory.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s most important to have her use strategies to help her keep up so that they become second nature. Also brain breaks every so often and talking with her about how her abilities are strong but she’s just wired this way, so that she doesn’t lose heart.

[Anonymous]

What is a profound level?

[Anonymous]

I am dyslexic with very low working memory. I was never tested, but assume it is the same as my son’s, which is the 5th percentile.

School is going to be hard. There is no way around that. Unfortunately it impacts almost all classes, which is a bummer. What it really impacts is testing, though. You don’t need fantastic working memory to write a paper or do a science experiment or understand ecology. It means that your daughter may understand things deeply, be really interested in them, study hard, and still bomb tests.

The best advice I can give you is to accept that for your daughter grades and learning are not always going to be synonymous. She is going to have to decide to work harder for poorer grades than her friends - even if she is “smarter” than they are. It is rotten, but it can make her into a diligent, grounded, self-motivated, empathetic person. You find out what you actually want to do, what you are actually interested in, when you have to accept that you’ll not get a gold star for your work.

My son is at a well respected (but not highly selective) college doing well. I am a professional with a masters degree. I wish I could tell you about some hack, but working memory is not particularly modifiable. But it is just one skill among many, and it is not destiny. Cheering your daughter on, OP!

[Anonymous]

We're using Cognifit right now under the supervision of a cognitive training specialist. I don't know if it's working. The data within the program shows its working, but it's not clear to me that it transfers outside of the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there ANYTHING that can be done to help kiddos improve their working memory?

DD is dyslexic has a profound working memory deficit. Despite having average to high average scores in most other areas in her psych eval the working memory is a huge issue for her. It spills into everything academically. DD is a hard worker and "gets there" with a lot of repetition. It's so much work for her fortunately she is disciplined and a hard worker so she is willing to put in the time to repeat the information and concepts until she drills it in but it adds so much more work for her so she is constantly playing catch up at school and in life. She already works with an ASDEC tutor and a math tutor that know that she needs repetition but just wondering if there are any other ways to help her strengthen her working memory.

My DC has poor working memory, dyslexia and dysgraphia. DC ‘s strengths are in math and science. Math became an apparent after the rout memorization of 1st and 2nd grade. (Always had a simple calculator accommodation - even in college and even though he majored in math) Slow methodical progress worked. Small steps will add up over time. Think tortoise not hare.

Also, don’t put too much on their plate. We (DC, DH, and I) made the decision to forgo foreign language in MS and HS. DC also limited the number of APs to only those classes that were in his interest and strength areas. DC used the extra classes for a fun elective or a study hall. Colleges will accept students that do not take a foreign language - you do need to explain why in the application.

We worked on some things in the summer that we did not have time for during the school year - like keyboarding. (Note, if there were timed tests in the typing app, I took them as he was never a fast typist) We concentrated on DC’s strengths and interests when deciding the level of classes to take.

Audio books at his cognitive level were key. He still did daily remedial reading, but he also did audio books so that he could progress at his level. This helped him keep up with the increasingly complex character developments and plots. It also helped immensely with his vocabulary and background knowledge.

We never really were able to increase his working memory. He will always be slow and methodical. He is currently in a Masters program in Data Science and doing well.

Sorry, this came out like a hodgepodge, and if I think of other things, I will post them.

[Anonymous]

Are attention or anxiety an issue at all? Both of those can negatively affect working memory. Appropriate treatment can help.

*Suggested with the caveat that these issues are only sometimes the cause of working memory challenges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are attention or anxiety an issue at all? Both of those can negatively affect working memory. Appropriate treatment can help.

*Suggested with the caveat that these issues are only sometimes the cause of working memory challenges

As a person with a working memory deficit (also tested in the 5th percentile in high school), things improved dramatically when my anxiety got under control. Not to say this is true for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there ANYTHING that can be done to help kiddos improve their working memory?

DD is dyslexic has a profound working memory deficit. Despite having average to high average scores in most other areas in her psych eval the working memory is a huge issue for her. It spills into everything academically. DD is a hard worker and "gets there" with a lot of repetition. It's so much work for her fortunately she is disciplined and a hard worker so she is willing to put in the time to repeat the information and concepts until she drills it in but it adds so much more work for her so she is constantly playing catch up at school and in life. She already works with an ASDEC tutor and a math tutor that know that she needs repetition but just wondering if there are any other ways to help her strengthen her working memory.

And has adhd or auditory processing disorder or slow processing speed been explored?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there ANYTHING that can be done to help kiddos improve their working memory?

DD is dyslexic has a profound working memory deficit. Despite having average to high average scores in most other areas in her psych eval the working memory is a huge issue for her. It spills into everything academically. DD is a hard worker and "gets there" with a lot of repetition. It's so much work for her fortunately she is disciplined and a hard worker so she is willing to put in the time to repeat the information and concepts until she drills it in but it adds so much more work for her so she is constantly playing catch up at school and in life. She already works with an ASDEC tutor and a math tutor that know that she needs repetition but just wondering if there are any other ways to help her strengthen her working memory.

And has adhd or auditory processing disorder or slow processing speed been explored?

Yeah what about inattentive adhd?

[Anonymous]

OP here. The psych eval ruled out ADHD but said to monitor as she progresses in MS. The psychologist did say that the jury was still out on Executive Functioning.

DD was however diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder and I haven't cracked the nut on how to support her there.

I have struggled with the IEP team to support her here as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The psych eval ruled out ADHD but said to monitor as she progresses in MS. The psychologist did say that the jury was still out on Executive Functioning.

DD was however diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder and I haven't cracked the nut on how to support her there.

I have struggled with the IEP team to support her here as well.

Working memory is actually a critical component of executive functioning. It isn’t raw intelligence per se, instead it is part of the organizational set up that allows one to apply that raw intelligence to tasks. It is, however, entirely separate from attention and impulse control, and maybe that is what the psych was referring to in terms of executive function. There are other components as well, of course. But working memory is an executive function.

[Anonymous]

Could working with an SLP help the auditory processing disorder? The more her learning challenges are addressed, the more available working memory she’ll have.

[Anonymous]

Neural movement definitely might be a something that can address that as they help my DS with a lot of his gross motor skills and executive function skills, memory. And recently put him in a group with now helping him tremendously in his social skills, being a team player, and not be a sore loser.