I am the mom of surviving quadruplets. My blog covers the birth of my children, their special needs, therapy, homeschooling and what it's like to be the mom to these special kids!
Fluid reasoning. I often see this listed on neuropsychological and psycho-educational testing but what does it mean and how does it impact education? Fluid reasoning is the ability to solve new/unusual problems without relying completely on past experiences and information. Fluid reasoning is related to math achievement, written expression, and to a lesser degree, reading skills.
James, my most academically skilled child has a relative weakness in fluid reasoning. He falls into the borderline range (below low average) with a standard score of 74. James is a great problem solver as long as the problem is straightforward. If you confuse him in ANY way in the problem he has NO idea how to find the solution. This is an example of a problem with fluid reasoning skills. Margaret has a fluid reasoning standard score of 85 which puts her in the low average range. I know her fluid reasoning ability is greatly impacted by her inattention (executive functioning) issues. Joseph scored a 79, which is right at the borderline/low average score range, meaning his fluid reasoning impacts his learning.
Working memory impacts fluid reasoning. Many tests that determine fluid reasoning use one of two methods to determine fluid reasoning. One is using a rapid-timed test. This method relies more heavily on someone's capacity for working memory. The second method uses an untimed test. The untimed method does not rely as much on working memory and gives more time to use other cognitive functions to complete the task. I know for Joseph, due to his slow processing speed, he can show his intelligence and fluid reasoning skills better with an untimed test. If you have a child with impaired processing speed it is important you ask for some of the testing to be untimed to allow your child to show their ability!
What is the Impact of Fluid Reasoning? Fluid intelligence or fluid reasoning tends to be lower in children who met the criteria for the following psychiatric disorders: bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional disorder, conduct disorder, substance use disorders, and specific phobia. James, my child with the lowest fluid reasoning score, has ADHD and Autism along with battling low levels of depression so I see this correlation personally. Academically, here are some things you may see your child exhibit if they are struggling with fluid reasoning:
Has difficulty with recognizing, forming, and understanding concepts.
Has difficulty with determining a relationship in a pattern.
Has difficulty with drawing conclusions from information that is given to them.
Has difficulty with understanding the consequences of an issue or action.
Has difficulty with solving complex problems.
Has difficulty with understanding and using "and logic."
Has difficulty with understanding and using "or logic."
Has difficulty with following a logical pattern through to the end.
Has difficulty with math and math reasoning.
Needs to rely on language to help with comprehension of new concepts and complex problems.
Displays difficulty with using past knowledge in new situations.
May appear confused with demands when given a task.
What can be done to help my child learn?
Classroom modifications, whether the child is homeschooled or in a public school setting, are important things to consider to help your child succeed in their education. Here are some examples of classroom modifications:
Rely more on verbal instruction than visual instruction or aids.
Pair verbal instruction with visual information so you can verbally explain what the child is viewing.
Ask clear, concise questions versus open-ended questions.
Rely more on verbal responses versus production of graphic material.
Test verbally for knowledge whenever possible.
Ask students to show all their work when possible and give partial credit if they can show the correct process.
Explain to the child how they will be graded on an assignment so they understand the assignment requirements.
Use a testing strategy familiar with the child and keep the questions simple and straightforward.
Besides classroom modifications here are some classroom accommodations to help your child/student:
Provide all instructions for tasks verbally if the child is verbal.
Encourage the child to verbalize thought processes to help clarify their thinking.
Rely on the students verbal memory skills to teach problem solving though repetition and recall (kill and drill).
Teach strategies for problem solving including giving the proper sequence of a process so it can be memorized.
Provide repetition and review of concepts to ensure over-learning of concepts.
Teach mechanical arithmetic in an organized, simple, step-by-step fashion with verbal instruction.
Use real objects and manipulative when teaching concepts.
Teach using strategies that increase understanding and learning, such as verbalizing thought processes on a problem or procedure, along with providing lists of steps to take to complete a concept or task.
Teach problem-solving techniques in the context where they will most likely be applied.
Teach and emphasize reading comprehension so the student can learn to read and re-read material for learning comprehension.
Teach verbalizing strategies to help the student organize written work into sequential steps.
Adjust the difficulty of the task where possible and keep instruction simple and straightforward.
When teaching concepts avoid complex instruction, figurative language, and complicated or lengthy directions/instructions.
Watch for problems with organizational skills and social skills since these are often impaired.
Locate a peer helpers to help the child stay on task.
Start a task and complete one example with the child so the child has a correct model to use to solve the rest of the work.
Provide a practice test with questions similar to the actual test.
Weight grades in favor of concrete information and skills acquired instead of creative use or application of concepts and skills.
Due to difficulty with deductive reasoning, the student may experience problems using a learned procedure or rule to solve problems, so provide various examples of how the rule or procedure can be used across different situations.
Due to difficulty with inductive reasoning, the student may experience confusion with discovery learning in which the student is expected to arrive at a rule to explain examples, so the student appears to work best when a rule is stated or a well defined set of steps is established to solve a problem.
To promote understanding and generalization in use of a rule or procedure, clearly describe the rule or procedure and provide numerous concrete examples.
Break complex tasks or procedures into component parts.
Help the student sort our relevant from irrelevant information when solving a problem.
Move slowly when presenting new information and tie new concepts into previously mastered
concepts and information.
Teach new information in groups or families and clarify how the items or examples are alike.
Provide a routine or practiced sequence for approaching a difficult or complex task.
Provide structured opportunities for the student to use a concept or skill in real life contexts.
Consider using a teaching assistant, volunteer or peer tutor to work individually with the
student to teach and demonstrate a new skill or concept.
Explain the purpose of an assignment in order to make the task meaningful to the student, since they may not independently perceive the relationship between completing a task and greater
learning outcomes.
Make an effort to explain in clear, concrete terms why a procedure is being used in a
particular problem.
The student demonstrates reasoning difficulties that might impede understanding of instruction.
A study guide might be beneficial to help the student organize information, identify the most relevant information and provide a conceptual framework to understand instruction (or passage
reading).
Use graphic organizers to help sequence information for effective
communication.
Model brainstorming for generation of ideas.
Explicitly teach about genres and writing to an audience.
Present models of good writing with guidance in determining why the writing was effective for its purpose.
Current Studies on Fluid Reasoning
Fluid reasoning, beyond any other cognitive or numerical ability, predicts future math performance. This study by Green et al. (2016) is small, only 69 kids, but the results of the study showed children with higher levels of fluid reasoning have a higher likelihood of showing higher levels of math achievement beyond what can be explained by age, vocabulary, or spatial reasoning skills.
In a study by Pagani et al. (2017), all most 5,000 students at the 7th grade level had their scores in fluid reasoning examined and tracked in Canada. As students dropped out of school or failed to graduate within two years after expected graduations their fluid reasoning scores were examined. It was found that for every standard deviation a child fell below the norm increased their risk of dropping out of school before graduation by 21%! This shows you how big an impact fluid reasoning can have on a child and a low score in fluid reasoning IS a learning disability!
Dehn (2017) acknowledges the strong relationship between working memory and fluid reasoning. What was interesting is he went further and conducted neuroimaging (brain scans) and found the prefrontal cortex is active during fluid reasoning/working memory tasks. This area of the brain (dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex) is the SAME area that controls attention and inhibition. So if your child has ADHD then they likely have lower working memory and fluid reasoning abilities since that is the same area of the brain.
A watershed model was proposed by Kievit et al. (2016) to show the interdependent relationship of fluid intelligence (fluid reasoning) with processing speed and working memory. This paper says that white matter organization affects processing speed and processing speed affects fluid intelligence. Again, I see this in my children. I suspect Joseph has diffuse white matter brain injury across his entire brain. He does have the lowest processing speed and; therefore, low fluid reasoning. Margaret, who I KNOW has diffuse white matter brain injury to part of her brain has a low score for processing speed (but higher than Joseph) and, again, I see an impact to her fluid reasoning.
Wrap Up
I hope this post has been helpful! As always, the links to resource material are embedded into the post for your reading pleasure! Researching the impacts of fluid reasoning has been valuable to me since I am the teacher of my children. It explains many of the issues I see in my children and their learning process. I hope you will be able to find ways to help improve your child's learning!
So what the heck is working memory? I think of it as the RAM of our human computer, our brain. James has a relative weakness in his working memory. His score on the WISC -V was a standard score of 85; however, a score of just 79 is considered borderline. So this is quite a low score, overall, for James who is my highest cognitively-abled child. Margaret got a standard score of 62. This puts her in the severely impaired. Joseph has a standard score of 79. If you knew him you might find this surprising since he is SO slow due to his processing speed. Over time though, I have noticed that both Margaret and Joseph are both quite impaired. I know now it is in different way. Margaret has major working memory problems but is much faster at processing information. Joseph on the other hand is SUPER slow in processing speed BUT he mas better working memory and long term memory. Over time, I think, this will serve him better.
So what exactly is working memory?
The computer, so useful a metaphor in cognitive psychology, offers an intuitively appealing model for thinking about the nature and structure of working memory.
Simplifying the workings of a computer, there are two means by which information is stored, the hard disk and random-access memory (RAM). The hard disk is the means by which information is stored permanently in a stable and reliable form; all software programs, data files, and the operating system of the computer are stored on the hard disk. To use this stored information you must retrieve it from the hard disk and load it into RAM. Now for the analogy: the information stored in the hard disk is like long-term memory, RAM corresponds to working memory.
How well does this metaphor fit with actual human working memory structure and function? The evidence is not all in, but cognitive and neuroscience approaches to the study of working memory have in many ways revolutionized the types of questions that can be asked and provided new insights into how working memory works.
Working memory is the mind’s ability to keep information for a short span of time, as you utilize such facts for the tasks and activities you need to do. It makes use of two lobes: the frontal lobe, which is responsible for planning, reasoning, emotions, problem-solving, movement and speech; and the parietal lobe, which governs the perception of stimuli such as pain, pressure, touch and temperature.
Since working memory is naturally brief, it makes use of attention and memory, but only for a short span of time. It is considered the foundation of the mind’s executive function, a group of mental processes that allows an individual to solve problems, plan ahead, pay attention and organize activities.
Defined as the brain’s ability to use an ‘imaginary sketchpad,’ it enables a person to visualize something – and keep it in his mind’s eye. Individuals can use this type of working memory to remember images, sequences and patterns. It is also useful for computing mathematical equations in the mind.
The visuo-spatial sketch pad (inner eye) deals with visual and spatial information. Visual information refers to what things look like. It is likely that the visuo-spatial sketch pad plays an important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we move through our environment (Baddeley, 1997).
As we move around, our position in relation to objects is constantly changing and it is important that we can update this information. For example, being aware of where we are in relation to desks, chairs and tables when we are walking around a classroom means that we don't bump into things too often!
The sketch pad also displays and manipulates visual and spatial information held in long-term memory. For example, the spatial layout of your house is held in Long Term Memory (LTM). Try answering this question: How many windows are there in the front of your house? You probably find yourself picturing the front of your house and counting the windows. An image has been retrieved from LTM and pictured on the sketch pad.
Evidence suggests that working memory uses two different systems for dealing with visual and verbal information. A visual processing task and a verbal processing task can be performed at the same time. It is more difficult to perform two visual tasks at the same time because they interfere with each other and performance is reduced. The same applies to performing two verbal tasks at the same time. This supports the view that the phonological (verbal) loop and the sketch pad (visual) are separate systems within working memory.
2. Auditory/Verbal Working Memory
This area of working memory makes use of the mind’s phonological or sound system. A good example is repeatedly dictating a phone number while dialing it. While it cannot be retained while doing a certain a task, it is touted by many as a common learning disadvantage in most activities like tasks that make use of verbal working memory include comprehension and language activities.
The phonological loop is the part of working memory that deals with spoken and written material. It consists of two parts. The phonological store (linked to speech perception) acts as an inner ear and holds information in speech-based form (i.e. spoken words) for 1-2 seconds. Spoken words enter the store directly. Written words must first be converted into an articulatory (spoken) code before they can enter the phonological store.
The articulatory control process (linked to speech production) acts like an inner voice rehearsing information from the phonological store. It circulates information round and round like a tape loop. This is how we remember a telephone number we have just heard. As long as we keep repeating it, we can retain the information in working memory.
The articulatory control process also converts written material into an articulatory code and transfers it to the phonological store.
How is your working memory?
Have you ever wondered if you have a good working memory? If so, take this test to find out!
IS (5 x 3) + 4 = 17? BOOK
IS (6 x 2) - 3 = 8? HOUSE
IS (4 x 4) - 4 = 12? JACKET
IS (3 x 7) + 6 = 27? CAT
IS (4 x 8) - 2 = 31? PEN
IS (9 x 2) + 6 = 24? Water
To take this test yourself, cut out a window in a blank sheet of paper so that it exposes only one line at a time. For each line, determine whether the arithmetic is correct or not: say, out loud, “yes” or “no.” Then look at the word that follows the problem and memorize it. Move through each line quickly. After you have finished all the lines, try to recall the words in order. The number you get correct is an estimate of your working memory capacity. Very few people have a working memory as high as 6; the average is around 2 or 3.
Working Memory and the Brain
A good example of an everyday activity that uses
working memory is mental arithmetic. Imagine, for
example, attempting to multiply two numbers (e.g., 43,
27) spoken to you by another person, without being able
to use a pen and paper or a calculator. First of all, you would need to hold the two numbers in working memory.
The next step would be to use learned multiplication rules
to calculate the products of successive pairs of numbers,
adding to working memory the new products as you
proceed. Finally, you would need to add the products
held in working memory, resulting in the correct solution.
To do this successfully, it is necessary to store the two
numbers, and then systematically apply multiplication
rules, storing the intermediate products that are
generated as we proceed through the stages of the
calculation. Without working memory, we would not be
able to carry out this kind of complex mental activity in
which we have to both keep in mind some information
while processing other materials. Carrying out such
mental activities is a process that requires effort and prone to errors.
A minor distraction such as an unrelated thought
springing to mind or an interruption by someone else is
likely to result in complete loss of the stored information,
and so in a failed calculation attempt. As no amount of
effort will allow us to remember lost information, the only course of action is to start the calculation again.
Our abilities to carry out such calculations are limited by
the amount of information we have to store and process.
Multiplying larger numbers (e.g., 142 and 891) “in our
heads” is for most of us out of the question, even though
it does not require greater mathematical knowledge than
the earlier example. The reason we cannot do this is that
the storage demands of the activity exceed the capacity
of working memory.
In an experimental setting, an individual’s working memory capacity is reliably assessed by tasks in which the individual is required to process and store increasing amounts of information until the point at which recall errors are made. An example of such a task is reading span, in which the participant makes judgments about the semantic properties of sentences while remembering the last word of each sentence in sequence. Tasks of short-term memory, in contrast, place menial demands on processing and are often described as storage-only tasks. Verbal short-term memory is traditionally assessed using tasks that require the participant to recall a sequence of verbal information, such as digit span and word span. Visuo-spatial short-term memory tasks usually involved the retention of either spatial or visual information. For example, in the Visual Patterns Test, the participant is presented with a matrix of black and white squares and has to recall which squares were filled in. The Corsi blocks task is an example of a spatial memory task, and participants have to recall the sequence of blocks that are tapped. Individual differences in the capacity of working memory appear to have important consequences for children’s ability to acquire knowledge and new skills.
Working Memory, Reading, and the Dyslexia Connection
Children may be described as dyslexic if their reading, writing and spelling skills are significantly worse than those of their typically developing peers. Dyslexia is now understood as a problem with Verbal Working Memory, where the Phonological Loop (verbal short term memory) does not function as it should, and the verbal portion of the Central Executive, responsible for concentration, attention, planning and other executive functions, is also affected.
Some symptoms of dyslexia arise as a direct result of poor Verbal Working Memory, such as poor reading, spelling, verbal comprehension, difficulty learning sequences and problems with organisation. Children with learning difficulties may also suffer from a lack of confidence and poor self-esteem.
A full diagnostic assessment is required to discover your child's pattern of strengths and weaknesses. This can be done by request a full psycho-educational testing from the school. If you homeschool you can request testing from your local school district under the Child Find guidelines, you can request a referral from your child's pediatrician to a pediatric psychologist, or you can request a referral and evaluation from a neuropsychologist.
What is Reading Comprehension?
Comprehension describes the interactive process between the reader and the text. Children with similar decoding and word recognition skills may vary in their understanding of material because their comprehension skills are at different levels. Listening and reading comprehension depend on language and cognition. Listening comprehension also depends on well-developed auditory skills. Prerequisite skills are:
vocabulary
grammatical skills
pragmatic skills
meta-linguistic awareness
shared understanding (social; cultural)
attention; sequencing
monitoring
working memory
When Working Memory skills are poor, children will struggle to retain information they read or hear for long enough to integrate it with existing understanding. This is particularly important when listening to, or reading, sentences with embedded clauses. Center-embedded clauses can be really difficult because this structure creates three sections to be analysed, overloading children with poor Working Memory. As we hear or read new information, we continually recode the material into chunks, discarding irrelevant detail and retaining the gist. Working Memory is crucial for this level of processing and enables us to manage longer texts. Working Memory is crucial for generating inferences because the reader needs to keep in mind a representation of the relevant section of text, while conducting searches for information, either in long term memory or other places in the text, before checking that the inference makes sense. Working Memory is also crucial for monitoring that incoming information makes sense. Children need to notice words they don't understand as well as contradictions and anomalies. Strategies to clarify information they don't fully understand may involve looking back to check that a word has been read correctly, or formulating and asking clarifying questions, all of which place demands on Working Memory.
Working Memory and Math (Dyscalculia)
It was found that the children in the dyscalculia and maths anxiety groups showed different types of working memory impairment. The dyscalculia group, when compared to the typically developing group, performed worse on the visual-spatial working memory task. This agreed with previous research which showed a link between developmental dyscalculia and poor visual-spatial working memory ability3. The maths anxiety group, on the other hand, were more impaired in verbal working memory than the dyscalculia group. The maths anxiety group was also impaired in visual-spatial tasks but only when a higher working memory load was used (i.e. there were a large number of objects to be memorized). This finding supports the idea that anxiety may use up working memory resources which leads to poor maths performance4.
Working Memory and General Academic Performance
Let’s say a child, Margaret, is presented with a mental math calculation such as, “find the sum of 2, 5, and 10”. She must remember all of numbers that need to be added, hold that information in mind while adding the numbers and ignoring distractions in her environment, and then produce the sum of 17. Children with poor working memory like Margaret might miss the middle number and produce a sum of 12. For reading comprehension of a passage, Margaret would need to read each sentence and hold them in mind while also making sense of their meaning. She would need to simultaneously process and store the information in the passage over a short time period. Common failures of working memory during academic tasks are reflected in skipping letters or words, blending together different words or sentences, and losing track of sentences or numbers (Holmes et al., 2010). All these working memory related failures result in Margaret being unable to correctly calculate a math problem or make sense of a reading passage.
It is estimated that 80% of children with poor working memory struggle with math, reading, or both (Gathercole & Alloway, 2008). Further, low achievers are three times more likely and students with special educational needs are six times more likely to have low working memory compared to typical learners (Holmes et al., 2010). What this tells us is that the majority of students that perform poorly in school or that require additional support have working memory deficits. It is these kids who become overloaded during regular classroom activities, such as those involving multi-step instructions, and miss important learning opportunities (Gathercole & Alloway, 2008). It is these children with low working memory that we find staring out the window with their minds wandering (Kane et al., 2007) when tasks get too tough and working memory gets overloaded.
Working Memory Training...Real or Hype? Working memory training information is ALL over the place on the internet. There are a TON of programs on how to increase working memory. Sadly, there is nothing that can really help with poor working memory. There has been research showing memory training is more helpful in reading versus math. There has been no research showing memory training helps overall cognitive ability. You can do programs training working memory but the effects have been shown to be short term and with the high cost of the programs it just is not worth pursuing.
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Sign of Working Memory Deficits
If your child exhibits 3 or more of these behaviors in this checklist there may be some cause for concern:
A need to re-read text
Test anxiety, especially on multiple choice tests
A need for more time and repetition
Inconsistent performance
Lack of focus and attention deficit disorders
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 to get help.
Struggles with reading comprehension and has to read through texts repeatedly to understand.
Struggles with problem solving that require 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 instruction 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 cognitive demanding tasks but attends well when cognitively 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.
Several of these working memory-specific symptoms are associated with multiple learning diagnoses, and indication of how critical working memory is to many learning abilities.
Learning Efficiency
Academic success is dependent on a number of skills working at a high level, many of which involve working memory: for instance, being able to retain information in class, reading with comprehension, and attention stamina.
Attention Deficits
Poor working memory skills impacts attention because if students cannot hold information as it is coming at them, it is harder to engage. These children tend to be more easily distracted and are often diagnosed as having inattentive ADD.
Reading and Dyslexia
Several of the symptoms above impact reading — both in learning to decode, and in reading efficiency for comprehension. Most of the time in reading though, the true difficulty is phonological awareness. An inability to retain text while reading more often not due to inefficient and exhausting decoding, not working memory problems.
Testing for Working Memory
One of the most common tests used to determine working memory capacity is the WISC V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®-Fifth Edition). This test has a whole subsection for Working Memory.
Another test that may be used is the WAIS IV (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale®- Fourth Edition). This test also has a subsection for Working Memory testing.
Both tests are highly recognized and work well in measuring Working Memory.
Working Memory Accommodations and Modifications
MONITOR THE STUDENT
• Ask the student to verbalize their steps in completing tasks they often struggle to complete. This can provide important information about where the breakdown is occurring and what supports are likely to work best.
• Evaluate the working memory demands of learning activities. A student with working memory difficulties will need more support as tasks get longer, become more complex, have unfamiliar content or demand more mental processing.
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REDUCE THE MEMORY LOAD
• Break tasks into smaller chunks. One task at a time is best, if possible.
• Reduce the amount of material the student is expected to complete.
• Keep new information or instructions brief and to the point, and repeat in concise fashion for the student, as needed.
• Provide written directions for reference.
• Simplify the amount of mental processing required by providing several oral “clues” for a problem and writing key words for each clue on the board or interactive whiteboard. This way the student does not have to hold all of the information in mind at once.
• Increase the meaningfulness of the material by providing examples students can relate to.
• Provide information in multiple ways: speak it, show it, and create opportunities to physically work with it or model it.
• Develop routines, such as specific procedures for turning in completed assignments. Once a routine is practiced repeatedly, it becomes automatic and reduces the working memory demand.
REPEAT AND REVIEW
• Be prepared to repeat information.
• Use visual reminders of the steps needed to complete a task.
• Provide opportunities to repeat the task.
• Encourage practice to increase the amount of information encoded into memory.
• Teach students to practice in short sessions, repeatedly throughout the day. Spaced practice is more
effective than massed practice. Have students practice new skills or information in short sessions
over the course of the day rather than in one long session. For example, give the student a set of key
facts to review for a few minutes two or three times during the school day, and encourage them to
review again at home both at night and in the morning.
USE ADVANCE ORGANIZERS
• Use advance organizers and teach students how to use them. For example, KWL (What I Know, What I
Want to Know, What I Learned) is a graphic organizer that helps students focus on what is to be learned.
This tool activates prior knowledge, helps generate questions to explore and then assists students to
connect what they learn to what they already know.
TEACH STEP-BY-STEP STRATEGIES
• Teach one strategy at a time in brief, focused sessions.
• Teach students when, where, why and how to use the strategy
• Review and activate prior knowledge.
• Be overt and explicit.
• Model and think aloud.
• Have skilled students model steps.
• Encourage use and practice.
• Evaluate and recognize effort and success.
• Encourage self-monitoring.
• Promote transfer to other situations, times,
activities and groups.
ENCOURAGE THE USE OF MEMORY AIDS
• Use visual posters, e.g. of multiplication tables.
• Create posters of commonly used words.
• Provide instructions in written form – could be a handout, whiteboard, or simply a sticky note.
• Provide a key word outline to refer to while you are teaching.
• Encourage the use of checklists for multi-step tasks (e.g., steps for editing written work, timelines for
assignments).
• Encourage students to make lists of reminders regularly.
• Use graphic organizers to teach new concepts and information. When the student can picture how
the ideas are interrelated, they can be stored and retrieved more easily.
• Consider educational technology that reduces the demand on working memory, such as calculators,
word processors, spell-check devices, grammar-check devices, and voice dictation and text readers.
• Use rhymes, songs, movements and patterns, such as ’30 days hath September’ rhyme for
remembering the number of days in each calendar month. Music and physical routines linked to fact
learning can help students memorize faster and act as a cue for retrieving specific information.
PAUSE, PARAPHRASE, SUMMARIZE AND ALLOW TIME
• Stop at least two times per lesson and request a quick summary from students – “what have we
learned so far?” – followed by quick notes on the board. Research overwhelmingly indicates that at
least 40% of total learning time needs to be spent reviewing new material.
• Request students to paraphrase, or have another student paraphrase verbally delivered directions.
Research has repeatedly shown that youth are more likely to “hear” and “remember” if they hear their
own voice or a peer’s voice.
• Allow time for rehearsal and processing.
• Allow extra time for the student to retrieve information. These students benefit from advance warning
that they will be asked a question.
• Avoid open-ended questions.
GET PHYSICAL
• Active participation with the material such as repeatedly hearing it, seeing it and moving it, holds the
information in working memory so it can move to long-term memory. Let the students move around,
use hands-on material and put information on file cards so they can be manipulated.
• Wherever possible, use games such as Jeopardy® and Scrabble®, drama and art to reinforce
concepts.
COLOR CODE
• Physical coding, such as consistent colors for different subject areas, can act as triggers to help
students remember information.
o Try coding when teaching new concepts: when teaching sentence structure nouns are always
red, verbs are always green etc.
o Spelling – highlight difficult parts of new words.
• Vocabulary – teach new words in categories or families and color code the categories.
o Encourage the use of colored pens or highlighters (remember, yellow is the LEAST effective).
MAKE OVERT LINKS
• Try to get the students to link new information to prior knowledge – encourage drawing, writing and
verbal reflection. The use metaphors, analogies, imagery or induced imagery (where the image is
generated by the individual, rather than given to them) can help.
• Start each lesson with a quick review of the previous lesson – always write down key words as the
students recall information to model “trigger words”.
• End each lesson with a summary of what was learned.
KEY WORDS
• Teach students to listen for key words. Post the words in the classroom and frequently use them as
cues while you teach.
• Often students with working memory difficulties also exhibit word and information retrieval difficulties.
They frequently experience the “tip of the tongue” phenomenon, or may produce the wrong details
within the correct concept. The student may need additional time to retrieve details when answering
a question. Cues may be necessary to help them focus on the correct bit of information or word.
TEST TAKING
• Allow extra time, or reduce the number of questions.
• Consider requiring recognition vs. recall.
• Teach students to scan the test and plan their time allocation.
• For essay tests, teach students to create an outline, write key words in point form and then expand on the
key words and ideas.
• Where possible, allow students to use reference sheets during tests (e.g., math formula, chronologies
of events), or encourage students to create reference sheets at home, to rehearse the information
frequently and then to rewrite the information at the beginning of the exam before attempting to answer
the questions.
• A student with difficulties sustaining working memory often needs frequent short breaks. Breaks typically
only need to be one or two minutes in duration. Observing when the student’s ability to focus begins to
wane will help determine the optimal time for a break.
• Use technology such as word processors, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech programs to reduce
working memory demand, and allow for additional time to complete tasks.
REINFORCE LEARNING PREFERENCES
• Encourage self-reflection for yourself and the student. What worked for me? What could I do next time? If
this strategy worked for this task, could I use it anywhere else?
• Many software programs and applications can provide rehearsal in an entertaining fashion and are often
less demanding of working memory.
Wrap Up
I hope this article has been helpful. Please click on the embedded links for source material. I know this has helped me understand the importance of Working Memory and I hoped it helped you do the same. Please leave any questions or comments below.
Okay, I know I homeschool but I still engage in educational advocacy for others. Why? Because I feel like I have a lot to offer others in the way of service, and to be honest, I HATE seeing how public schools abuse/misuse special needs students! So my help for today is how to request educational testing. You must request the start of educational testing! Should you HAVE to? NO! See here, here,here, here, and here on the case law. BUT most schools will do nothing until you speak up and start advocating for your child! Here is a sample letter to request testing by the school district.
Please double check the law quoted in here since the regulations can move from time to time. I hope you find this helpful!
Dear (Principal,Guidance Counselor, or School Psychologist's name),
I would like to request comprehensive educational testing for my child ________________ who is in _____ grade at __________________school.
I would like a full psycho-educational evaluation together with appropriate testing for learning disabilities. I request my child be tested in all suspected areas of disability (34 CFR 300.304), including the areas(in this area to add any specific disability such as of auditory processing, executive function, OT, speech and language, reading disability, etc).
I understand I need to sign a consent form so the school can conduct the evaluation (34 CFR 300.300). If I do not hear from you in three days I will call to set up a time to sign the consent form.
After testing, and at least 5 days prior to attending the IEP team meeting to discuss the testing results [34 CFR 300.613(a)], I request I have a chance to review the result and ask any questions I have with the evaluator so that I may be an active part of the team (34 CFR 300.321).
I understand the school system has 60 days to complete testing and hold a meeting to discuss eligibility [34 CFR 300.301(c)(1)(i)]. Please note, at the IEP meeting I will be recording the meeting and any subsequent IEP meetings. I want to make sure I do not miss anything and an audio recording will help me immensely. I look forward to meeting with you on that date.
Sincerely, (your name)
When you deliver your letter to the school you need to do so in one of two methods.
Method 1: Write the letter and print out two copies. Take one copy to the post office and send the letter certified mail with signature card and return receipt. Once you get the signature card back take it and staple it to the other copy you saved. This copy should then be placed in a file folder, or better yet, hole punched and put into a three ring binder you use and organize for your child each year.
Method 2: Print off two copies. Take both copies into the front office and ask the secretary to stamp both copies as received with the school stamp WITH DATE! You will give her one of the copies to deliver and the other will be retained for your files.
It is important you keep up with ALL paperwork and have it stored in one place. I also like to scan all paperwork and store it in a cloud. I like Dropbox for this purpose because it accepts all file types (so audio records along with paper docs) and it is easy to share files if I wish to do so. I am not associated with Dropbox in any way. I just like their product. :) I hope this helps. If you have questions please write me a post. I will answer your questions to the best of my abilities.
Executive functioning is a complex issue. I know since all my children have executive functioning issues! The real question is how does executive functioning issues impact learning in both the homeschool and public education environment?
First, let's discuss homeschool. It is easier, when you homeschool, to address executive functioning issues because you can tailor a child'e learning environment around their disabilities.
So what is executive functioning?
WebMD defines executive functioning as a set of mental skills that help you get things done. These skills are controlled by an area of the brain called the frontal lobe.
Executive function helps you:
Manage time
Pay attention
Switch focus
Plan and organize
Remember details
Avoid saying or doing the wrong thing
Do things based on your experience
When executive function isn’t working as it should, your behavior is less controlled. This can affect
your ability to:
Work or go to school
Do things independently
Maintain relationships
This is a huge problem for children with ADHD, depression, and learning disabilities. These conditions are often associated with issues with executive functioning.
How does executive functioning impact homeschool?
When you have a child with executive functioning problems you cannot expect them to manage their time, day, or classwork. They will have a difficult time organizing information and paying attention to the task at hand. They will have problems with switching between tasks and are horrible multi-taskers. This means you will need to give them more one-on-one attention in both tasks and academics. For my three children this means I have to teach them all separately. They cannot be taught as a group in reading and math. We do these separately. For science, history, and social studies we learn these together. I often have James or Margaret read while the others listen and ask questions. Since retaining information is also an executive function issue and an issue with working memory (another common problem with EF and in my children) we often will repeat the same lesson 2 to 4 times in the same week. This helps the children to retain the information they are learning. This is something I can do in a homeschool setting that would not typically occur in the public school setting.
How does executive functioning impact school?
Executive functioning in a public school setting can be a nightmare and this is one of the reasons why I enjoy homeschooling. It is often called by parents an "invisible" disability. The signs are often subtle but there. Then there is the challenge for parents to figure out the symptoms are issues of executive functioning and request a school district to test for EF issues.
So which tests can tell if a child has a problem with executive function issues? Well, the sky is the limit! LOL There are a LARGE verity of tests, partially because EF covers so many functional areas, so it is hard to say which test could be used to test your child. Some of the more common tests are:
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Category Test
Stroop Test
Trail Making Test-B
WAIS Subtests of Similarities and Block Design
Porteus Maze Test
Multiple Errands Test (MET)
Serial Sevens
Mini-Mental State Exam
These tests should be used in conjunction with other other testing to examine Intellectual functioning, Academic achievement, Language processing, Visuospatial processing, Attention/ concentration, Verbal learning and memory, Visual learning and memory, Speed of processing, Sensory-perceptual functions, Motivation, and Personality assessment. All of these tests play a role in defining issues with executive functioning and other learning disabilities. Most of these tests are best completed by a neuropsychologist. I promise you a school district will never have a neuropsychologist on staff no matter what they say. If it does ever happen someone please let me know but I feel confident in my statement. Why? It is because a neuropsychologist is a specialist and schools tend to only employ psychologist for testing.
What is a neuropsychologist and how are they different from a school/typical psychologist?
There are basically three types of psychology: clinical, school, and neuropsychology. Clinical psychologists assess and treat children with a wide variety of psychological problems, but particular with emotional/behavioral issues. They may be found working in hospitals, community health centers, or private practice. Although most clinical psychologists are generalists, who work with a wide variety of populations and problems, some may specialize in a specific population and specific disorders (e.g. attachment or post-traumatic stress disorder). They are trained in universities or professional schools of psychology and may not be very familiar with school settings. Clinical psychologists provide both assessment and treatment (psychotherapy).
School psychologists are involved in enhancing the development of children in educational settings. They assess children's psychoeducational abilities and recommend actions to facilitate student learning and overall school functioning. They are typically trained in the Schools of Education at universities and work in school systems, community-based agencies, or private practice. A few may specialize in a particular school-related problem such as learning disabilities or ADHD. While specializing in educational issues, they may not be well trained in medical-based disabilities and disorders. School psychologists usually administer both norm-based psychological tests and criterion-referenced educational (achievement) tests.
Neuropsychologists represent a specialized discipline within the field of psychology that mostly focuses on cognition (the ability to think, remember, learn, etc.) in relation to the effects of brain damage and organic brain disease. A neuropsychologist can administer standardized psychological and neuropsychological tests to patients in private office and hospital settings.
Why is a neuropsychologist examination helpful?
A pediatric neuropsychologist work closely with schools to help them provide appropriate educational programs for the child. There are five major reasons why a thorough neuropsychological evaluation performed by an pediatric neuropsychologist is superior to a psychoeducational evaluation. These are the inadequate range of a psychoeducational evaluation, the training of the personnel performing psychoeducational evaluations, the narrow focus of psychoeducational evaluations, the level of performance model employed in psychoeducational evaluations, and the failure of psychoeducational evaluations to assess brain behavior relationships. The school and general psychologist tend to focus on achievement and skills needed for academic success. Generally, they do not diagnose learning or behavior disorders caused by altered brain function or development.
Even in the homeschool setting this testing is very helpful to the parent so the parent can understand the learning deficits and strengths of their child. This will help the parents to better teach their child in the home setting.
Children are referred by a doctor, teacher, school psychologist, or other professional because of one or more problems, such as:
Difficulty in learning, attention, behavior, socialization, or emotional control;
A disease or inborn developmental problem that affects the brain in some way; or
A brain injury from an accident, birth trauma, or other physical stress.
A neuropsychological evaluation assists in better understanding your child’s functioning in areas such as memory, attention, perception, coordination, language, and personality. This information will help you and your child’s teacher, therapists, and physician provide treatments and interventions for your child that will meet his or her unique needs.
A pediatric neuropsychologist can evaluate school-age child many areas such as:
General intellect
Achievement skills, such as reading and math
Executive skills, such as organization, planning, inhibition, and flexibility
Attention
Learning and memory
Language
Visual–spatial skills
Motor coordination
Behavioral and emotional functioning
Social skills
Some abilities may be measured in more detail than others, depending on the child’s needs. A detailed developmental history and data from the child’s teacher may also be obtained. Observing your child to understand his or her motivation, cooperation, and behavior is a very important part of the evaluation. Emerging skills can be assessed in very young children. However, the evaluation of infants and preschool children is usually shorter in duration, because the child has not yet developed many skills.
So what can the results from the testing tell you?
By comparing your child’s test scores to scores of children of similar ages, the neuropsychologist can
create a profile of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. The results help those involved in your child’s care in a number of ways.
Testing can explain why your child is having school problems. For example, a child may have difficulty reading because of an attention problem, a language disorder, an auditory processing problem, or a reading disability. Testing also guides the pediatric neuropsychologist’s design of interventions to draw upon your child’s strengths. The results identify what skills to work on, as well as which strategies to use to help your child.
Testing can help detect the effects of developmental, neurological, and medical problems, such as epilepsy, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, or a genetic disorder. Testing may be done to obtain a baseline against which to measure the outcome of treatment or the child’s development over time.
Different childhood disorders result in specific patterns of strengths and weaknesses. These profiles of abilities can help identify a child’s disorder and the brain areas that are involved. For example, testing can help differentiate between an attention deficit and depression or determine whether a language delay is due to a problem in producing speech, understanding or expressing language, social shyness, autism, or cognitive delay. Your neuropsychologist may work with your physician to combine results from medical tests, such as brain imaging or blood tests, to diagnose your child’s problem.
Most importantly, testing provides a better understanding of the child’s behavior and learning in school, at home, and in the community. The evaluation can guide teachers, therapists, and you to better help your child achieve his or her potential.
Wrap up
Links have been included in the blog to the sources of my information. Some of the information comes from personal experience. All of my children have executive functioning issues. The executive functioning is also impacted by their working memory issues and ADHD. Knowing my children have executive functioning issues has really given me a lot of patience since I now understand their limitations and issues. I don't get so annoyed when I have to repeat myself 6 times or get angry when I ask for a task to be completed and it never gets done. I understand now and know the problem. It has made me think about how I parent my children, my expectations of them working independently, and what I need to do to help them in the future.
I am including a link to a list of accommodations written up by a school district in New York that covers all areas of executive functioning and has accommodations from Kindergarten to 12th grade. It is a great resource for both the homeschooled and public schooled child. The link can be found here and it is a PDF. I am also including a link (click here) to a redacted version of Margaret's last neuropsych report. It is not as comprehensive as it could be because all my children had neuropsych testing completed three years ago but it gives you a good idea how a report should be written and what to expect. I hope this has been help and always feel free to send me questions in the comment section!
Thursday was a day full of fun...NOT! I left for a while to get some school work done and my husband was nice enough to try and collect a urine sample from Margaret and James. Now keep in mind these children are not potty trained. We were given these plastic bags with an opening that is sticky. You peel the sticker off and attach it to the private part area. All this being said it seems to work pretty well for boys, or so I thought, and for girls I had NO idea how this was going to happen.
I apply the collection bags first. Margaret was so unhappy that she was screaming and flailing around but I got it on her. Then I put her diaper back on and hoped it would work. I then put one on James and I thought that went pretty successful. So then I left and let John do the first collection.
When he checked the bags had come off and spilled any contents into their diaper. So round 1 was a bust. John placed another bag on them. When I got home tow hours later I checked the children. Again the bag detached from the skin and allowed the contents to leak in the diaper. So yet again Round 2 was a bust. We tried one last time and waited until bedtime. Round 3 a bust! If anyone has any ideas on how to get a urine sample from children who are not potty trained and have limited verbal ability I would LOVE to know. :)
Since the urine collection did not work I thought I would still take Joseph into the lab to get blood drawn.
So Friday morning I was suppose to get up early and so was John because the blood test Joseph had to do was fasting. We over slept though and did not get up until 8am. Joseph was in a good mood though so we went ahead and left. I needed to get blood work done too so I thought we could "kill two birds with one stone" by getting us both tested. We got to the lab (Quest) and signed in. I thought we would get in pretty soon because we had fasting tests but little did I know how wrong I was.
I brought a bottle in the diaper bag for Joseph so i could give it to him as soon as he had his blood drawn. Joseph was his "good" baby self though and he crawled around on the floor entertaining himself by crawling/hopping like a frog. The people around us thought he was adorable. He crawled/hopped around and under the chairs of various people. Then he "hopped" across the floor and would just bump into people or furniture before he would stop. Again, the people there were really kind as we waited and did not mind.
After 75 minutes passed we were called up to the desk. I handed the woman Joseph's lab slips from the neurologist and the geneticist. The tests for the neurologist she was able to process because he had used a lab slip and the tests were all coded. The geneticist on the other hand wrote the lab order on the prescription pad. There was at least one test she could not find so she told us to sit down while she called someone to see if the could do the test and determine how it was done...lol.
So more waiting in the chairs. Joseph, still having not eaten, was being a good boy. He was crawling around bumping into people and furniture. About 15 minutes later I was called back up and we were officially signed in. Just an hour and a half after we first arrived.
So more waiting and we were called back another hour later. I went into the back and held Joseph. I was SO proud of him! They checked his right arm and could not find a vein. I told the people that he was a preemie and most all his veins were shot. They tried the left arm and found a tiny vein deep under the skin. I was worried for him because I know this could go VERY wrong.
The woman there knew what she was doing. She put her gloves on and Joseph whined. This was the first time he had made any sound besides some happy babbling. I held him tight and she poked him with the needle. Joseph did not even cry. He just whimpered for a few seconds and he was done. She did such a good job sticking him that she was able to get all 7, yes it was that many, vials of blood out without having to move the needle around or anything. Yea! By the end I had Joseph laughing. To make things even better momma went next. I had my blood drawn too. Then we went to the lobby where I let him lay in the floor and drink his bottle. It was a little after noon and I knew he had to be starving! After he had his bottle we went home. What a long day and it was only noon!
I hope to have the results of all the blood work back on Wednesday. The MicroArray DNA test will be another week after that. Can't wait to see the results!
