Improving Working Memory

At Home Programs For Children and Adults

Working memory is a critical cognitive skill associated with fluid intelligence, attention stamina, reading and listening. Gemm offers two cognitive programs that help improve working memory in children and adults in different ways.

Fast ForWord

Fast ForWord takes a multi-faceted approach to improving working memory in children and adults:

• Accurate Listening and Reading. In many cases, a working memory issue is a capture issue, most often an auditory processing disorder that makes it hard to keep up or that is muddying the accuracy of what is heard or read. It was not forgotten, but rather, it was not captured accurately (or missed completely) in the first place. Fast ForWord has exercises that build processing speed to improve listening accuracy which also carry over into reading, for reading comprehension.

• Selective Attention. Sometimes weak working memory is caused by a focus issue, either staying engaged or being able to resist distractions while capturing information, listening or reading. Fast ForWord uses memory and other exercises to improve selective attention and attention stamina.

• Retention Skills. Once captured, information needs to be held and processed. Fast ForWord uses adaptive exercises that increase the amount and complexity of information that can be held, and the retention span, with escalating distractions, replicating real world in class or at home scenarios.

• Processing Efficiency. If information can be put in context it is easier to retain. However, an overloaded learning system struggles just to read or listen literally. There is no real capacity to think about the content, to relate it to existing knowledge or understanding. Fast ForWord builds learning efficiency in listening and reading, to create this extra capacity for thinking critically while reading or listening, thereby improving working memory efficiency. This aspect of working memory is thought to directly impact fluid intelligence, the ability to think quickly and reason abstractly.
  How working memory impacts intelligence
  

Fast ForWord is the most researched cognitive skills program available for improving working memory skills in children and adults of all ages.
Fast ForWord Program

BrainWare Safari
BrainWare Safari addresses visual working memory, short and longer term memory, sequential and spatial memory issues.
Learn more about BrainWare Safari

Memory Gains From Our Program

Gains from working memory exercises include:

Better grades and test scores. The improved ability to retain the question while scanning multiple choice answers is a major source of better grades.

Improved reading comprehension. Improved working memory helps retention of material while reading and cuts down on the need to read and re-read text.

Improved focus and attention stamina. Retaining more of what a teacher says makes it more interesting and so easier to stay engaged.

Ability to follow instructions and directions. If you cannot hold more than 1-2 pieces of information at a time, everyday life is challenging, especially for younger ones where so much of what they learn comes through spoken language. Our program's working memory exercises work directly on this skill and generally it is one of the earliest changes parents report to us, a new-found ability of their child to follow their directions.

Working Memory Definition

Working memory is the short-duration, limited-capacity memory system that simultaneously stores and manipulates information. It is used all day every day to follow the drift of a conversation or instructions, and in reading comprehension.

Working memory is a background, harder to detect cause of learning and reading comprehension difficulties for many of our students. Limits in working memory are important because working memory is the mental process of holding information in a short-term, readily accessible, easily manipulated form where it can be combined, rearranged and stored more productively.
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Symptoms of Working Memory Difficulty

Symptoms of a working memory issue include:

• A need to constantly read and re-read text
  
• Difficulty following multi-step directions
  
• Difficulty staying engaged in class
  
• Test anxiety, especially on multiple choice tests
  
• Needs more time and repetition
  
• Inconsistent performance
  
• Lack of focus and attention deficit disorders

Working memory deficits are closely related to attention because if an individual cannot hold information as it is coming at them, it is harder to stay engaged. These children tend to be more easily distracted and are often diagnosed as having an attention deficit or ADD.