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Programs to Improve Working Memory
At-home cognitive training for working memory with professional oversight.
Is Poor Working Memory Holding Your Child Back?
Working memory is the invisible engine behind learning.
Working memory is the brain’s ability to temporarily hold and process information gathered while listening, reading, or thinking. Do any of these symptoms of working memory problems fit your child?
- Grades and homework efficiency lag behind natural smarts.
- Reading fluency is good, but reading comprehension is a challenge.
- Multiple-choice test results disappoint.
- More disorganized as the school day gets more complex.
Working Memory Can Be Strengthened
Live tutoring will not help a child with poor working memory, but cognitive training can expand and improve working memory in just a few months. Gemm Learning provides two home-based working memory programs:
- Fast ForWord cognitive training
- Cogmed working memory and attention training
The programs work differently, but both aim to improve focus, language, reading comprehension, test-taking, executive function, and reasoning.
Working MemoryExecutive Function
Kristopher
Age: 15
Location: CT
Diagnoses: ADHD, Executive Function
Results
Kristopher’s interest in reading has improved. He is more organized, working independently and planning ahead for each day.
3 Levers to Improving Working Memory
Working memory has three separate skills:
- Capture of information – accurate listening and reading
- Capacity – number of items and retention time
- Manipulation – ability to sequence, compare and contrast, say what if, bring in more prior knowledge
Our working memory programs work on all three aspects:
Language and Reading Capture: If the words you hear are muddy or the decoded words are unfamiliar, they are not meaningful, and the mind has nothing to work with and hold.
Processing speed is another source of the same capture problem. If your child is not able to keep up with the teacher, things are missed. Similarly, when reading is too slow, too much time passes, and the first sentence is lost.
These capture issues hinder working memory capacity and manipulation skills because those skills are deprived of meaningful practice and do not develop properly. Capture is the main source of working memory deficits – and is best treated with Fast ForWord.
Expand Capacity: Adults, on average, can hold 7 digits, a phone number. Working memory exercises can help the brain hold more information for longer periods, which boosts comprehension, reasoning, and multiple-choice test-taking.
Learn to Manipulate: Being able to compare and contrast information held in working memory, bring in new thoughts, and move information around with dexterity supports all aspects of learning, comprehension, executive function, and fluid intelligence. This capacity was the real source of Einstein’s genius.
When auditory processing delays, dyslexia, or ADHD undermine “capture,” the many downstream skills that depend on working memory suffer. For most families, improving capture is the best place to start.
The best home software to improve working memory in children depends on the source of the working memory deficit. Fast ForWord targets capture efficiency and capacity. Cogmed targets capacity and manipulation.
Cognitive Training for Working Memory
Gemm Learning offers two world-class options.
- Fast ForWord: Builds processing efficiency and working memory capacity.
- Cogmed: Expands the mental “workspace” that holds, manipulates, and acts on that information.
We recommend one or both working memory programs based on individual needs.
Solution: Fast ForWord Software
The Focus: Learning Efficiency & Working Memory Capacity
Fast ForWord software is a comprehensive suite of language, cognitive, and reading programs designed to build learning from efficient capture (listening and reading accuracy) through to advanced reading comprehension.
Much like an athlete building muscle memory and physical strength, Fast ForWord software uses adaptive exercises that systematically increase speed and complexity at the student’s own pace.
Targeted Skills and Outcomes
Fast ForWord cognitive training software is engineered to build these core cognitive pillars:
- Accurate Listening and Reading: Working memory skills can start to develop normally and comprehension improves when information capture is accurate.
- Working Memory: Each sequential program in the Fast ForWord series includes working memory exercises that target auditory and visual working memory.
- Selective Attention: Exercises focus on sustained attention, impulse control, and distractions, replicating real-world classroom and homework scenarios.
- Processing Efficiency: Cognitive load that challenges the brain to automate tasks (using subconscious thinking) expands the cognitive bandwidth available for critical thinking and problem-solving.
Gains in these skills unlock natural smarts. By increasing the amount that can be held in working memory simultaneously, the software directly boosts fluid intelligence and reasoning ability.
Client Outcomes: Our pre- and post-reading assessments show significant gains, and families report higher grades and test scores, greater focus, and improved homework efficiency.
Is Fast ForWord the Right Fit?
Fast ForWord is definitely the right fit if any of these describe your child:
- Early speech delays, chronic ear infections, physical hearing issues, or being born overseas.
- Listening difficulty in noisy places.
- Slow or labored reading – more on our reading program for kids with ADHD here.
However, there are several other scenarios in which Fast ForWord is effective. The best way to find out is to schedule a 1-on-1 consultation or call 877.914.4366 to speak with a specialist.
Solution: Cogmed Working Memory Training
The Focus: Ability to Manipulate Information In Mind
While Fast ForWord focuses on inputs and learning efficiency, Cogmed provides cognitive training for working memory that builds the skills needed to hold and manipulate information while reading or listening.
This dexterity drives reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It also influences how well an individual scores on an intelligence test.
About Cogmed
Cogmed Attention Training (formerly known as Working Memory Training) was designed by cognitive neuroscientists and psychologists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. It uses a number of different adaptive cognitive exercises for working memory in all its forms – auditory, visual, and spatial.
Leading independent research teams worldwide have demonstrated its efficacy in 120+ studies. The study results highlight Cogmed’s success in improving working memory and attention. Studies show that the benefits are substantial and long-term, regardless of age or condition.
Cogmed’s two primary outcome targets are attention and working memory.
- Attention involves processing specific information while tuning out other information in the environment.
- Working memory is key to the brain’s processing capacity. It is vital for concentration, reasoning, learning, and resisting distractions.
Studies have also shown improvements in reading and maths for many students. This makes sense as we use our attention and working memory every day.
Cogmed is a good fit if:
- Reading is fluent, but comprehension is weak
- Attention is a challenge in many different situations, not just in class
- Test results lag behind ability
- Language is good, but reasoning, or the ability to connect the dots, lags behind peers
Is Gemm Learning the right fit?
Find out if our working memory programs can help. Schedule a free 1-on-1 consult or call 877.914.4366 now.
FAQ on Working Memory
What is the parent role and what oversight do you provide?
Your role as a parent is to establish a daily routine for the child. Your child just logs in and starts. We manage everything else. Our professionals manage the daily assignments your child works on, monitor daily, check in regularly, send weekly reports and success certificates, and intervene with tips, advice, and virtual live sessions as needed.
How do software exercises translate to better real-world focus?
The exercises in our working memory programs train the individual skills needed to build efficiency – effortless listening and automatic reading – which makes learning easier, less effortful, and therefore less exhausting, making tuning out far less likely. Better working memory also boosts comprehension, which makes the teacher and reading more interesting and so more engaging. Gains in both efficiency and comprehension significantly improve focus.
Will my child have to do this forever to keep the gains?
No, this is a one-time program. Improvements in working memory, focus, and related skills integrate into your child’s learning and are used daily, so the gains endure. Not only that, but by removing long-held impediments to learning, higher-level executive function and metacognitive skills can then develop more quickly, which is why many clients report continued acceleration in learning after our programs.
Which is better for my child, Cogmed and Fast ForWord?
Cogmed focuses narrowly on working memory capacity and cognitive flexibility. Fast ForWord focuses on language processing and related cognitive skills, including working memory, to build learning and reading efficiency.
If your child has a history of speech delays or ear infections, learning delays in your family, and/or if your child’s reading is slow and labored, Fast ForWord is the right choice. If your child is a fluent reader but comprehension is a challenge, or if focus is challenging in all learning situations, then Cogmed might be the better choice.
Call a Gemm Learning advisor to find out which program is the right fit for your child.
What is the best home software to improve working memory in children?
In most cases, working memory problems stem from language processing delays, so Fast ForWord, which targets language processing and related skills, is the most appropriate intervention. If there is no evidence of language processing difficulties, Cogmed Working Memory Training is a better choice.