Working Memory & Processing Challenges

How Can the Tutors Support Children with Working Memory and Processing Challenges?

Working Memory Problems and School

Unsurprisingly, children with impaired working memory can find certain tasks in the classroom hugely challenging, despite being intelligent and capable. Maths is one obvious area that can be very difficult but following instructions or completing any kind of step-by-step process can also be almost impossible for some kids.

As working memory is a feature of ‘executive function’ – those skills which allow a person to organise their life and workload, focus and regulate their emotions – a student with issues in this area may also find it difficult to concentrate and take in the necessary information from the teacher in the first place. In a busy classroom, it’s easy for a child to be distracted by everything around them from a classmate sniffing to the overhead lighting.

Problems with working memory are not always easily identified in everyday life and parents who are concerned should seek a formal assessment from an educational psychologist. There are techniques to help students who struggle with this – writing down instructions, is one easy solution – but specialist tutors with experience of pupils with attention problems will have plenty of techniques for helping kids to catch up with schoolwork.

What is Processing?

When educationalists and health professionals talk about ‘processing’, they are referring to the way in which a person’s brain makes sense of the information being fed to it. Some children with special needs have problems in this area though some experts argue that these can also be standalone difficulties. The most common types of processing disorder are auditory, visual and sensory.

A child with auditory processing disorder (APD) will find it difficult to make sense of spoken language and to identify differences in the sounds in words. This can be especially tricky in noisy environments but has nothing to do with impaired hearing. The problem is in the way the brain interprets what they hear.

Likewise, visual processing disorder (VPD) means that a person finds it difficult to interpret visual information. This could manifest itself as problems with reading or spotting the difference between shapes, and might also mean that someone has poor hand-eye coordination.

VPD is a complex area and is unlikely to be detected during a routine eye test. There are many variations of this disorder – children may have problems with spatial awareness, for example, or get some of their letters back-to-front.

Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is where someone becomes overwhelmed by information ‘flooding’ into their brain via all the senses. A child may be under or over-sensitive to certain stimuli, becoming distressed by certain noises, for example, or needing to chew things.

Overlap with Other SEN

Many symptoms of problems with working memory or processing are shared by other SEN conditions. It’s important, therefore, for parents to seek help from a paediatrician, psychologist or occupational therapist in order to build a complete picture of their child’s needs and secure the appropriate help.

Useful contacts

• The British Psychological Society
  Provides information on all kinds of psychological provision and has a members list. Visit them here.
• The Royal College of Occupational Therapist
  The Royal College of Occupational Therapists has a directory of OTs. Contact them here.