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Original poster

Working Memory

13 replies

Kjt74 · 28/01/2016 08:36

I'm looking for some advice or guidance on improving DD's working memory (she's in Y3). We have recently spoken with the school who have confirmed DD's problems with maths etc are largely related to her not being able to retain the information. She can do a question 5 or 6 times then by the 7th one, it's like she's a blank slate and doesn't know where to start.

We've arranged a maths tutor to work one-to-one with her but wonder whether anyone knows of any websites that address improving a child's working memory? I've seen COGMED and JUNGLE MEMORY but JM has poor reviews for being too difficult and we don't want her to be disheartened as she does require lots of praise and encouragement.

Any help or advice will be gratefully appreciated!

OP posts:
TheGreatSnafu · 28/01/2016 10:38

We found Jungle Memory useless, I agree, don't use it.

What we found after reading a lot about neuroplasticity is that pretty much anything that stimulates the need for working memory can help - so we assessed his likes and found working memory gaps in the activities that he enjoyed and then we tried to get our DS motivated to use his working memory for things that he enjoyed.

We first used supports (often visual) then faded them out. The good news is that now he has a very strong working memory so improvements can be made but they do take time.

How severe is her impairment - i.e. can she pack a bag on her own? complete 3 or 4 part verbal tasks - i.e. if you tell her "go into the kitchen, open the cupboard over the dishwasher, and bring me the blue bowl on the left" could she remember that when she got into the kitchen?

It may be that she has a weak working memory in some settings and not others - if she can visualise herself in the kitchen but not visualise a maths problem (if that makes sense)

Original poster
Kjt74 · 28/01/2016 12:34

She would be absolutely fine with those kinds of tasks and her reading is okay too.

She is learning her times tables and often gets halfway through and they are just gone from her head. Similarly when she is working through some KS1 books i ordered for her, halfway down the page she's just loses it.

She can be very easily distracted which doesn't help either.

The school say that she also struggles with problem solving type maths, so rather than 6 x 3 she would get Bob has 6 bags in each bag he has 3 apples, how many apples does Bob have? She simply doesn't know where to start to break them down, partly because she isn't retaining the times tables or recognising the problem is a times table type problem.

OP posts:
TheGreatSnafu · 28/01/2016 15:25

I'm a bit confused - did someone qualified tell you that this was a working memory problem?

My DC who had terrible working memory could memorise times tables without problem and recall the information as it was long term memory.

But if you said "74" to him and then 10 seconds later said what number did I say he couldn't remember.

Is it only in academics that this problem is apparent? Because at first description it seems like a different type of problem than working memory.

Being able to solve one type of math problem but not another type wouldn't have to do with working memory unless it was mental maths.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused and not sure I am being helpful.

Labtest7 · 29/01/2016 10:22

My daughter also has a very poor working memory. She had chemo between the ages of 4 and 6 to treat leukaemia and her consultant believes this has caused the problem. In cognitive assessments her verbal iq was very high but working memory fell on the 9th percentile or thereabouts. She can learn her tables but they are not retained, same thing with number bonds. It doesn't affect reading or spelling. She is 9 with a reading age of around 16 and equally good at spelling. Her school use visual aides and allow her extra time in assessments but this is also because chemo has affected her fine motor skills and as a result her handwriting is often illegible!!

rakha · 09/03/2016 11:43

Hi
Please have a look at www.memorypower.org

MumTryingHerBest · 09/03/2016 13:05

Kjt74 has anyone mentioned the possiblity of dyslexia?

What you have described above is the same for my DD who has been diagnosed with dyslexic and dyspraxic traits.

For all of yr 1 and part of yr 2 it seems that she was working so hard to keep up and was being bombarded with more than she could handle so she was just switcing off. I would go over her homework with her and part way through it would be like everything she had learned or done up to that point had been completely flushed out of her head.

Early in year 2 my DDs class teacher said that she had noticed that my DD seemed to particularly struggle with written maths problems.

It is not uncommon for dyslexic children to struggle with times tables either.

It is often thought that DCs with dyslexia struggle to learn to read. However, that is not always the case and certainly my DD reads very well.

UnmentionedElephantDildo · 09/03/2016 13:06

Anyone had good experiences with COGMED? I've just come across if and am considering it for DD

Misty9 · 10/03/2016 20:21

Your short descriptions do sound more like an executive functioning problem rather than working memory alone - which would fit with dyspraxia as pp mentioned. How is she with coordination and physical activity? Social communication skills? To be honest I would be asking for a referral to the ed psych possibly... have the school suggested this?

asnmdirteha · 08/04/2016 17:13

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JaneMea · 14/02/2018 15:07

We've just tried Jungle Memory for a few days. There is no feed back from the site which looks and feels archaic; and my son has gone from finding the diagnosis of having poor auditory memory an interesting thing, to hating his brain. There is a very clear 'fail' logic applied toe the site's assessment and not motherly skills can sugar coat it. I would absolutely not recommend it.

BlackNails · 19/02/2018 06:08

Look at getting a formal assessment by an educational psychologist for dyslexia (which can affect number skills, although not necessarily in the way you describe) and dyscalculia, which is a specific learning difficulty related to learning, retaining and using mathematical skills. Often dyslexia and dyscalculia can go hand in hand. You can be a great reader and be dyslexia (my eldest is; you see her issues more in planning work and spelling). My youngest is severely dyslexic and also has dyscalculia. Her working memory was assessed by an educational psychologist as being in the 'very poor' category.

Norestformrz · 19/02/2018 06:33

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