Executive Functions -- How Much Can Your Working Memory Glass Hold?

Why is working memory so important?

Working memory is considered to be a key component in learning.  The ability to hold information in the brain, study it, manipulate it, act on it.... these are all essential "must have's" in order for a child to be successful in school.  Working memory can be compared to your laptop's desktop.  These are the files that you use more than others, you refer to them often -- you may tuck them away for a while, but you are always able to retrieve them with fluidity whenever you may need them.

How can I tell if my student or child has deficient working memory?   Does he/she forget important information that has been taught and re-taught?  Does he appear to struggle when presented with tasks that have too many steps?  Are his written expression assignments 'all over the place'?   Is multi-tasking hard for him/her?  Does he/she avoid complex tasks with multiple steps and perform poorly in those kinds of tasks?

Executive function testing helps us to determine how a student's working memory is performing.  It's an important number to know.  There are accommodations that a student simply must have to be successful in the classroom if his working memory is deficient.   Comparing working memory to a water glass is helpful.   Some folks are born with water glasses that can hold much more than others.  So for the student with a smaller water glass, he will "spill over," become less efficient in his work, and possibly appear to forget what he was taught when his working memory water glass is to full.  If he has language deficits, and his teacher provides all of the information he needs via "talking teaching," he will struggle even more!

Here are some accommodations to consider in the classroom:

Chunk important instructions -- be concise with directions, provide important steps in bits
Write directions down
Follow the teaching practice of teach a little; practice a little; teach a little; practice a little
Visual schedules are important to help with transitions -- many kids can't hold all the information in their minds throughout the day
Make lists and check lists
Use technology
Use graphic organizers for writing assignments and other subjects
Create a project plan for long-term projects, write it down, and check completed steps off
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
Divide task into various components and create a checklist of these components

Watch for my new book "Executive Function 'Dysfunction' " published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers to be released in June.  It contains lots of strategies to cope with executive function difficulties!
 

 

 

 

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Autism Pathways: Visual Schedules -- Remove or Keep?

Autism Pathways: Visual Schedules -- Remove or Keep?: I was attending an IEP meeting for a student who will be moving to intermediate school next year.  He currently has a visual schedule on his...

Visual Schedules -- Remove or Keep?

I was attending an IEP meeting for a student who will be moving to intermediate school next year.  He currently has a visual schedule on his desk.  The team decided that next year, all visuals would be removed from his school day.  The rationale was that this would help him to be more independent and blend in better with peers.  But I can assure you, there's nothing like a good melt-down to make other students aware that a child has a "problem."  And for me, as an autism consultant, implementing visual supports for kids who don't transition well is an Autism 101 strategy.

I sat silently listening to the team discuss this action, and then could not help but join in the discussion, as I truly was perplexed!   I carefully explained my confusion to the team:  Here was a student who was thriving with his visuals, had a history of extensive melt-down behavior without them, and yet the team was considering removing them in the name of "independence?" 

Many children with autism lack sufficient working memory.  Some of these children also have receptive language difficulties.  As an example, a teacher may think that if she meets with her student with autism in the morning to review the order of events for the school day, a schedule will not be necessary.  However, when a student lacks working memory, he may not be able to hold all of that information in his brain so that he can keep it readily available for reference.  Thus, when there is a transition, or something happens that is different from the normal routine of the day, the student may become escalated. So too, because for his language deficit, he may not process all that the teacher had carefully explained.  When one does not process directions, he most likely will have difficulty with appropriate follow-through.  The visual schedules serve to  bridge the gap between working memory deficits, language processing impairment, and functioning normally without transition problems.

Visual schedules can be in word format or picture format.  We need to make sure we are using a picture schedule for kids who can't read and a word schedule for kids that can.  This may seem like a silly thing to write, but I have seen word schedules in pre-school and kindergarten classrooms where kids are not yet able to read!  These schedules are not for the student, they are for the staff!  Pairing the words with pictures is even better -- it adds more clarity for the student, and it helps him to learn functional use of language  Taking photos to use as pictures is also more meaningful than using icons.  Students will recognize and remember pictures better than symbols.

We're sometimes used to seeing visual schedules on student desks, but they can also be designed to be more discrete.  Schedules can be created for the inside of a binder, the insider of a locker door, in a pocket or purse, or inside a student's desk.  Whatever the team decides, it should be appropriate for the needs of the student.  

Ideally, we want our students to make progress towards independence.  But we have to remember that autism is not something we can "fix".  If the supports are working, that means they are helping to accommodate the disability.   Often, the visual supports are enabling the student to be more independent because they help his behavior to be more appropriate.

So my advice to you is this:  if a student is more independent with visual supports and less independent without them., then by all means keep those visuals in place!