Short term memory? Is this ADHD?

[Californiansun]

DD15 has always struggles academically but is doing ok is most subjects; except maths. DD said she thinks she has ADHD; maths tutor said she picks things easily but her working memory isn’t good

I am wondering whether we should look for an assessment? Medication? Treatment.

Her current maths tutor is not sure she will pass her GCSE. Doing ok in the other subjects.

Struggles with working memory alone aren’t ADHD, but if it comes in combination with other signs then it can definitely be worth getting an assessment done. There can be other types of learning challenges that include working memory issues that can be picked up in other types of cognitive testing, so you really need to know if she’s showing other signs of ADHD to know if it’s worth testing her for that.

Do you mean short term or working memory?

From google:

The main difference is that short-term memory is a passive storage space for holding a small amount of information for a brief period, while working memory is an active workspace that both stores and manipulates that information

Where does it go wrong? Remembering the methods or applying them correctly? How's her timestables?

You can manage a lot by even more regular practice and reinforcement.

(Can't help on the ADHD issue)

I don’t think she shows other signs like impulsivity or disorganisation.

Tutor said she forgets the topic covered after a few weeks as she isn’t practicing: even though she picks information easily.

Both my kids have adhd, however they present very differently! Try this quiz with her:

https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-self-test-for-teenage-girls/

It must be said however that obtaining an ND diagnosis is quite an endeavour for just "struggling with maths" - the ADHD label is not worn tightly (despite being "trendy" at the mo on SM it still has a negative reputation widely) and medication can have longterm health impacts: those who take out do so knowing this as life is such a horrible struggle without it!

If dd is doing fine everywhere else and her tutor is working albeit slowly i would just persevere that way?

What does dd think?

That’s not what working memory is.

Thats just a typical issue anyone could have in an a subject that wasn’t an strength isn’t it - you do something once, don’t practice, a few weeks later you’ve forgotten.

What are the reasons your DD has for thinking she has ADHD?

Forgetting over weeks without practise is normal! She needs to practise skills to keep them, that's how our brains work.

If she can do it in the moment it's unlikely to be working memory. Problems with retention may explain why she's struggling academically.

Just seen your update! Can you find an app, game or workbooks that encourage more routine practice? Encourage her to use the effort reward process somehow for more regular practice? It's just about getting the information to stick!

If the tutor says it’s because she isn’t practising surely the answer is to have her study more or practice what she’s learnt

This isn’t adhd or short term memory failure.

Many people learn best through doing. Doing it wrong, finding out why, doing it again. And again. and again and again. And then same task but in a slightly different context/differently worded problem.

She needs to practice more to secure the understanding. Return to questions she got wrong first time and re-do them.

The answer is time, effort , diligence and good sleep.

Thank you; I think is lack of practice as everyone said maths is one of those subjects you need to practice everyday. I will encourage het/remind her every day. Sit with her. Also, maybe some short memory issues; her long term memory is very good.

She also said she suffers from poor memory

I think she does tick many of these questions

Adhd isnt really memory. They forget to take things etc because they arent concentrating or are distracted.
Or are inattentive where they are daydreaming and not listening to the lesson.

Dd doesnt find adhd meds help memory at all.
But she is more likely to
do the work
and can get through a page of maths etc without distracting
shes also (slightly) more motivated.

But im not finding its particularly helping in maths because she could already do the work and relatively accurately. She just doesnt want to.

i think you need to work out what the issue is
Does she know times tables? Did she find those hard to learn.?
is she struggling to remember the method? So doing the work monday forgotten by Wednesday or forgotten by next time the class covers it?

My kid usually has a good memory but there are so many maths topics and some pretty detailed that with only covering it say every 6 months or year its not enough. For revision you need go be rapidly recovering the topics you arent remembering .
So probably if gcse year doing lots of past papers. So embedding the easy topics.

is it a particular topic shes not remembering?
some revision guides are good for summarising the main steps.

When i was doing gcse maths in the 90s we had end of year exams every year and i found revising fir those you improved the memory and covered the whole year of work. Whereas my now y10 has never had 1 end of year exams every in any subject and the maths tests whilst by end of year do in theory cover everything, they actually dont seem to. And we are back covering basic number again when she doesnt really need that (though surds and recurring decimals etc are needed). But it looks like they only cover the top grade work late y11!

The foundation paper isnt that much harder than SATs but they do need to be accurate.

I'd suggest a cognitive assessment which will give you a better understanding of her difficulties rather than a generic ADHD assessment. But I appreciate it's harder to organize/access.