The statistics on working memory tell it all:
- Poor or underdeveloped working memory impacts about 1 in 10 children. (Gathercole & Alloway, 2008).
- Children with working memory challenges overwhelmingly struggle to make academic progress. Over 80% of children with poor working memory demonstrate scores below grade expectation in math and reading (Gathercole & Alloway, 2008).
- Teachers describing students with working memory delays often use words like highly inattentive, short or poor attention span, and high distractibility levels (Alloway et al., 2009).
If the impacts are so significant, parents and teachers of diverse learners need to dedicate more time and resources to boost executive functioning skills like working memory.
What is working memory?
Working memory refers to our ability to hold information in short-term storage while performing other tasks (Cowan, 2014). Working memory requires us to keep information and thoughts in an accessible form and then use it for other executive functioning skills like planning, problem-solving, and emotional control.
How do I know my child has working memory challenges?
Not all teens and young adults who struggle with working memory will have the same challenges. However, common signs your child or student has issues with working memory might include:
- Incomplete recall – remembering some information or facts but not all components.
- Reading and math comprehension –
- Failure to follow instructions – leaving out steps or not completing tasks at all.
- Losing items – forgetting where things are placed or frequently leaving items behind.
- Repeating steps – forgetting which steps in a task are completed.
- Task abandonment – leaving a task in the middle or before finished.
Keep Developing Working Memory in Diverse Learners
Individuals with unique learning needs demonstrate a wide range of working memory skills. Some individuals show well-developed working memory, especially in reading and math comprehension. Others may have strong working memory skills but little motivation to demonstrate them in a home or vocational setting. Your teen or young adult learner may also have long-term needs for interventions and strategies to boost working memory.
What do those interventions look like for my child?
How can I develop and implement tools to help my child or student with working memory deficits be more successful?
Which strategies might be most successful for my diverse learner?
If these are some of the questions you have as a parent or professional, check out these additional resources to develop working memory in individuals who may need long-term support:
Long-Term Strategies & Supports for Deficits in Working Memory
Break it down
Individuals with working memory challenges struggle with retaining complex instructions or lots of information at once. If you know your learner has difficulty managing lots of information at once, adjust your expectations and break steps down. Provide instructions step-by-step, or have your learner complete smaller components of a task and recruit feedback more frequently.
Breaking tasks down may seem like taking a step backward, but ultimately, if you give your teen or young adult too much information and the process breaks down, you’ll have to provide help anyway. Sometimes, less is more.
Reduce distractions
Some working memory training exercises focus solely on helping individuals tune out irrelevant information and distractions. If you know your learner is heading into a complex task that demands full attention, an effective strategy to support success is to reduce as many distractions as possible. Turn off devices and screens. Play white noise or background ambient sounds to drown out conversations. By giving your teen or young adult fewer things to tune out, you increase the probability they’ll stay focused on the task at hand.
Practice everyday tasks so they need less working memory
Building successful routines and practicing everyday tasks to fluency is another strategy that can help learners with working memory difficulties. While we don’t often think about wanting our teens to be “on auto-pilot,” sometimes that can play to our favor, especially when practice can help reduce the amount of decision-making and working memory capacity some tasks require.
Consistently practice routines and common tasks until they become habits for diverse learners. Habits require limited or no decision-making (and subsequently, less working memory). Practice and rehearsal save decision-making and working memory functions for more complex tasks.
Use checklists and visuals
Many of us use visuals supports to help us stay on track and remember tasks. Checklists, to-do lists, daily agendas, end-of-the-day reminder sheets, calendars, and self-evaluation ratings can all be valuable tools to help diverse learners require less working memory to focus and stay on track.
While we may want our teen or young adult to ‘just know’ or ‘remember it all,’ a more realistic strategy for an individual with working memory deficits might be to use a checklist to remember essential things. Independence with an activity, even if aided with an intervention tool like a reminder list, is still a greater level of independence.
To see a sample “What Do I Need?” reminder sheet to help your teen gather necessary materials for an event, download our free .pdf sample executive functioning worksheet.
Offer breaks
Just as we look to break down tasks into simpler components to promote success, we can also help learners that struggle with working memory with more frequent breaks. Getting up to stretch, get a drink of water, or use the restroom can make a big difference for some learners who have difficulty with an intense focus on complex tasks. For some learners who have good working memory skills but struggle with the motivation to apply them in academic or vocational settings, more frequent breaks can improve performance on tedious or less-preferred tasks.
“Say it back” or summarize
If your learner struggles with retaining instructions, you might find the “say it back” strategy to be an effective way to help them retain steps. When you provide instructions, follow up by asking your teen or young adult, “Now, what are you supposed to do?” By asking them to summarize or say the instructions back, you’re increasing the probability that they’ll remember the information. You can ask them to repeat it if necessary or have them continue to say the instruction aloud as they complete the task’s steps.
Teach when and how to ask for help
When working memory deficits go unaddressed, some teens and young adults begin to use inappropriate or challenging behavior to compensate. Over time, many students with diverse learning needs can use refusals, aggression, delay tactics, or physical aggression when frustrated or avoiding complex tasks. If your child engages in challenging behaviors tied back to working memory, it’s important to focus on teaching a more appropriate replacement behavior. Teach your learner when and how to ask an adult for help – in a more appropriate way than using challenging behavior.
Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Support
If you’ve tried some of the strategies above or are concerned you may not have the support necessary to help your child or student with working memory, consult with a professional. Your child’s medical care team or an experienced mental health professional can support you in making informed decisions about the best steps for you and your child. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Continuing to develop working memory—whatever your child’s diverse learning needs—will only lead to more success in the future.
Further Reading
- Alloway et al. (2009). The cognitive and behavioural characteristics of children with low working memory. Child Development, 80, 606-621.
- Cowan N. (2014). Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education. Educational psychology review, 26(2), 197–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y
- Gathercole, S., & Alloway, T. P. (2008). Working memory and learning: A practical guide for teachers. Sage.
- Life Skills Advocate Blog – Every Parent’s Guide to Decision Fatigue
- Life Skills Advocate Blog – Executive Functioning Skills 101: Working Memory
- Life Skills Advocate Blog – 5 Easy Ways To Boost Your Teen’s Working Memory