What CAN help your child is an intervention for attention problems caused by poor working memory.
How do you know if your child has memory issues?
A child may be constrained by their working memory capacity if s/he:
- Is easily distracted when working on or doing something that is not highly interesting.
- Has trouble waiting his/her turn, for example in a conversation or when waiting in line.
- Struggles with reading comprehension and has to read through texts repeatedly to understand.
- Struggles with problem-solving that requires holding information in mind, for example, mental math calculations.
- Is inconsistent in remembering math facts.
- Struggles with completing tasks, especially multiple step tasks.
- Has difficulty remembering long instructions given in several steps, for example following recipes, directions or school/work assignments.
- Struggles to understand the context in a story or a conversation.
- Has difficulties when planning and organizing something that needs to be done in separate steps.
- Has difficulty staying focused during cognitively demanding tasks, but attends well when cognitive demands are minimal.
- Has difficulty integrating new information with prior knowledge.
- When called on, forgets what he/she was planning to say.
- Has difficulty taking notes and listening at the same time.
These problems could all be related to working memory issues!
We’d like to introduce to you the Cogmed Working Memory Training program. This is the only intervention we know that directly targets underlying working memory challenges. Other programs may have components that address memory, but this program specifically targets working memory, which results in improved attention.
The Cogmed Working Memory Training is a targeted 8-week computer-based intervention for attention problems caused by poor working memory. This program includes 8 weeks of game-based training exercises delivered 4 times a week in 30-40-minute sessions as well as a weekly 15 minute coaching session with a certified Cogmed coach.
The beauty of this program is that it continually adjusts to challenge the learner so that they are constantly stretching their abilities and improving. At the end of each session, kids are rewarded with a fun game that is directly tied to their success in the training session. Kids love seeing their progress rewarded!
Areas that will likely see improvement:
- Paying attention
- Being less distracted
- Taking initiative
- Completing assignments
- Being self-directed
- Getting started and finishing tasks
- Working more independently
Basically, an improved working memory prepares students for being more successful in school and in life.
Some students experience dramatic improvements, while for others, the improvements are more subtle. But even being able to hold onto one more piece of information while completing a task can make a huge difference in efficiency and reducing frustration.
We had over 50 students participate in a pilot program two years ago. Their research shows that 80% of people who use this program see significant results.
(We also have a version for adults!)
