Short-Term Memory Weakness and Strategies

Short-term memory refers to the ability to process information for a very short time, 3 to 20 seconds. The capacity of short-term memory is usually limited to 5 – 9 items. Children can improve this skill with practice and as a result of using one or more strategies that work for him/her.

Some children are easily successful with remembering images, but not as good at remembering letters. Some children are inconsisent with remembering new information due to the inconsistency with attention and not knowing how to sort out important from non-important information. Medication, sleep and/or anxiety can also have an effect on a child’s short term memory ability.

Sometimes a weakness in one or more areas of learning can have a significant impact on a child’s productivity in school. Because different areas of learning such as attention and language can affect a child’s ability to effectively process new information it is not always easy to determine the cause of short-term memory difficulty, however, a pattern of difficulty with common learning tasks such as the list below may help parents and teachers to find strategies that could help their student to achieve more success.

Following is a list of common leaning challenges that are related to short-term memory weakness:

• Following simple directions
• Confusion with multi-step directions
• Copying information from the board
• Studying math facts and/or spelling words
• Lack of memory for details, even after directions have been repeated
• Difficulty paraphrasing new information

Following are some strategies than may help a student with a weakness in short-term memory to improve this learning area. It is usually best to try one or two strategies at a time. Some strategies may be more successful than others, depending on the child and the learning task.

• Repeat information
• Break a task into steps
• Chunk new information into groups
• Use visual aids and graphic organizers
• Practice rehearsing new information through sub vocalation (whispering under your breath)
• Discuss different ways to associate the new information with something that has a similar sound
• Guide your child to paraphrase new information orally and/or visually.
• Teach your child to use colors to highlight important information
• Find ways to help your child to make a personal connection to new information.
• Guide your child to look for patterns
• Prompt him/her to engage in conversation with you about the new information
• Prepare student for a task in advance.

Just for Fun! Click out the links below to try some online memory tests with your child. Was it easier or harder to do the test with pictures compared to letters? Practice one or more strategies listed above and find out if you (or your child) were able to improve with practice? Try repeating the test after spending a fair amount of time using a strategy such as chunking information into groups.

Short Term Memory Test with Pictures
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/puzmatch.html

Short Term Memory Test with Letters
ttp://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/stm0.html

Neuroscience For Kids – Memory Games
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html

If your child is in need of an online tutor to help strengthen learning weaknesses, find the best solution for your family.