Poor Working Memory

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Our Challenging Children (gifted, ADHD, sensitive, defiant)

Poor Working Memory

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amother

Wed, May 07 2014, 2:36 pm

Since dd was very young (2/3 yo) I knew there was something wrong with her memory. DD now 6 yo. We just went to psyciatrist for full eval and found, among other things, she has very poor working memory. Apparently its very common among adhd kids. Unfortunately, the adhd meds may only help improve the working memory by 10-15%. I feel that this may be a bigger hinderance to her life then the adhd (for which there are meds) and the ld (which we will work to overcome and work with and around). What can I do (computer games, programs, etc) to help her with this? More then anything else this is so frustrating. It's the memory that is shorter term then short term memory. It means that literally for every single thing she does she needs to be redirected, reminded and told again- her most often used phrase is 'what again'. So what can I do to work on this with her? TIA

seeker

Wed, May 07 2014, 4:59 pm

PM me, I work with a few programs that can help with this and we can talk about figuring out what's right for you.

amother

Wed, May 07 2014, 5:02 pm

Cogmed. It's a working memory program. Only one that is scientifically proven to work. Google cogmed.com and look for a provider in your area.
Hatzlacha

amother

Wed, May 07 2014, 6:15 pm

what about for adults with poor short term memory. Does that program work too?

seeker

Wed, May 07 2014, 9:09 pm

Yes, Cogmed - among other cognitive training programs - is appropriate for all ages. There are others with solid research behind them as well. There are a number of factors that can go into choosing the right method for each person, which is why I only give recommendations individually.

smilingmom

Wed, May 07 2014, 9:27 pm

I've used cogmed for myself and found it extremely boring.
I got it free as part of a study to see if it helps "chemo brain". Despite the fact that I was really motivated to lessen the side effects of chemo, I found it so boring and tedious, that I stopped using it.
I don't know about the kids version, but the adult version required one hour per day, five days per week.

amother

Wed, May 07 2014, 11:23 pm

smilingmom wrote:

Wow- that's a lot of hours! I would never have the patience for that and certainly my daughter wouldn't!

(As an aside, smilingmom, I didn't realize your memory could get any worse then it was ;-) )

seeker

Thu, May 08 2014, 1:06 am

You might have the patience for it if it were more engaging, could be split into three 20-minute sessions per day, and had a good chance of solving some of your biggest problems.

smilingmom

Thu, May 08 2014, 6:31 am

seeker wrote:

You might have the patience for it if it were more engaging, could be split into three 20-minute sessions per day, and had a good chance of solving some of your biggest problems.

I agree seeker, that if the program was more engaging, it would be more palatable, but the program is what it is.

As far as splitting it into three sessions, as most imamothers here, who has the time?
I have seven kids, one full time job, one part time job.
I enjoy spending my spare time crocheting, knitting, writing, playing sudoku and scrabble.
Cogmed just doesn't cut it for me.

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