ADHD & WORKING MEMORY

Children with ADHD are 4x more likely to have visual working memory problems compared to peers without attention problems.

AUTISM & WORKING MEMORY

Children with autism have difficulties with communication and social skills. They can also have poor visual working memory (mental blackboard). This makes it difficult for them to solve math problems in their head. Poor visual working memory affects social interactions, as we use it to read body language and other social cues. A child with autism can struggle with processing nonverbal communication, resulting in social challenges.

DYSLEXIA & WORKING MEMORY

Children with reading difficulties have difficulty with phonological awareness (learning and discriminating sounds of words). This affects spelling, reading, and writing. Children with dyslexia have poor auditory working memory, which results in poor reading and comprehension.

MATH & WORKING MEMORY

Children with math difficulties have poor number sense. This results in difficulties in learning number rules and arithmetic facts in younger children, and solving complex arithmetic and word problems in older children. Children with math difficulties typically have impairments in visual–spatial working memory. Young students (5-7 years) can also have verbal working memory deficits, while older students (>8 years) may have average verbal working memory.

WORKING MEMORY & LEARNING

3 key facts from my research:

 ·      Working memory is a significant predictor of learning success. My research identified that working memory scores at 5 years old is a better predictor of learning outcomes than IQ, even six years later.

·      1 in 10 students have a low working memory. In my study of over 3000 students, I found that 10% have working memory impairments that lead to learning difficulties.

 ·      A student with a low working memory struggles to ‘catch up’. My government-funded studies show that without early diagnosis, working memory difficulties will affect learning throughout their school career.

MEMORY TIPS

I am not associated with Jungle Memory.