MEET CHARLIE OUR GUINEA PIG

As many of you know, having a child with ADHD or working memory issues creates a challenge when trying to get them to take responsibility for multi-instruction tasks. We have had a difficult time getting our son to be independent and to take on responsibility. Some of this is probably our fault. He works so hard with his learning disabilities and ADD that we probably baby him too much otherwise. However, he was begging – BEGGING for a guinea pig. Even though we really did not have ANY desire to have another pet in the house (we have a Havanese dog and a Beta fish), we decided to use the opportunity to teach responsibility and to increase his independence.

At the pet store, we made a very hard deal with my son. He had to take responsibility for caring for the guinea pig with my help. If he did not, then we were going to give the guinea pig away and he was going to have to pay us back for the cost out of his allowance. We emphasized the deal several times and made him repeat it back to us several times before we even bought the guinea pig. So we bought the guinea pig and named him Charlie.

Charlie is very funny and makes all sorts of noises that make us stop in our tracks! He loves to be held, loves to beg for food and enjoys playing both inside and outside in a play area that we bought for him.

The very first Saturday, when it was time to clean out Charlie’s cage, we did get push back from Griffin. I spoke with him to make sure he wasn’t scared or anxious about the task. He was refusing to take care of the cage. So we said that we were going to have to start asking around to see who wanted Charlie and walked away. Sure enough, Griff came into the kitchen to work with me on cleaning up the cage.

We decided to take pictures of Griff taking care of Charlie for two reasons. We wanted to give Griff the opportunity to share his story of responsibility with his class. Since his teacher is deathly afraid of anything rodent like, we decided to make a poster which he is going to share with his class. Second, we use the visual poster as support for Griff when it is time to take care of Charlie. It reminds him of what tasks he needs to do and it is a system that he can use independently without asking for help.

RINSE OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE CAGE WITH HOT SOAPY WATER.

PUT IN FRESH BEDDING.

PUT IN FRESH FOOD.

Visual reminders are a strong means of support for any type of task both at home and within the classroom. It gives a visual reminder and checklist yet is something the child can access independently. You can use any type of pictures when putting together a visual checklist but I find that Griff loves pictures that feature him!!

Griff has been afraid or reluctant in the past to take on tasks on his own. We are finding, however, that with visual checklists, his confidence is growing and that he actually enjoys some of the independent responsibilities he has taken on.

Now if I could only get Charlie to slow down on the pooping ….

THE COMPLETE VISUAL CHECKLIST.

So 6 nights a week, we work together for an hour and a half. Reading, writing, word rings, spelling words, math problems, and language arts work sheets. It is all about repetition, repetition, practice and practice.

As you can see, I do NOT have this all figured out yet. I have decided, however, to approach the problem a little differently. One of the areas where he is weak is an area known as working memory. So in addition to our practice and repetition, I plan on researching methods and approaches that strengthen working memory specifically.

According to Wikipedia, “Working memory is a theoretical construct within cognitive psychology as to the structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information in short-term memory. […] What we now call working memory was referred to as a “short-term store” or short-term memory, primary memory, immediate memory, operant memory, or provisional memory. Short-term memory is the ability to remember information over a brief period of time (in the order of seconds). Most theorists today use the concept of working memory to replace or include the older concept of short-term memory, thereby marking a stronger emphasis on the notion of manipulation of information instead of passive maintenance.”

There are several theories of working memory which differ in the anatomy of working memory and the explanation of the cognitive functions associated with it which you can research online and are written in the typical academic lingo. However, all agree in that the working memory is associated with the simultaneous storage and processing of temporary information. Working memory and its components are critical components of comprehension, attention, information retention, and information retrieval.

Working memory problems have implications for reading, reading comprehension, writing, organization, the ability to follow directions and math! So the big elephant in the room, I have decided, is the question of whether we can do anything to help our son’s working memory!

Apparently working memory has been studied for decades in animals and humans. Only recently have some started to believe that working memory can be strengthened through rigorous training. Swedish Neuroscientist Dr. Torkel Klingberg is one. He has developed a software working memory training program for both children and adults called Cogmed. The Cogmed program has been offered in Sweden since 2003 and, in the United States, since 2006. The Cogmed program has supposedly been tested and evaluated by scientists throughout the world. Dr. Susan Gathercole, an expert on working memory, for many years believed it was not possible to train working memory. Much of her research had, in fact, been focused on ways to reduce demands on working memory in the classroom. Apparently with Cogmed, her views have changed. The results of Dr.Gathercole’s study have recently been published (April 2009).

Another tool is Jungle Memory. Jungle Memory is an online interactive computer program based on scientific research. Children play games that train working memory in key learning activities, like reading and math. Tracy Packiam Alloway who helped to develop Jungle Memory, is a senior lecturer at the University of Stirling’s Department of Psychology in Scotland and Director of the University’s Centre for Memory and Learning Over The LifeSpan.. Ms. Alloway has studied and researched working memory for 12 years.

So apparently the belief that you can expand or strengthen working memory is a relatively new concept. I have a lot more research into this to do but I am going to start by trying the Cogmed program with my son. We will probably start some time in September after we have settled in with the start of school.

So what about you? Is working memory an issue for you or your child? I would love to hear your feedback and experiences.

Thanks for watching and until next time ….

Karen

Tracy is an expert in the area of working memory and shares “everything working memory” on her blog. It is an academic research expert’s resource for the lay person. She talks about current events, research and how working memory correlates to learning issues. It is extremely informative and not presented in academic lingo.
 
 
Tracy Packiam Alloway

Tracy Packiam Alloway, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Memory and Learning in the Lifespan at the University of Stirling, UK. She is the author of over 75 scientific articles and two books on working memory in children with learning problems, and has developed the world’s first standardized working-memory tests for educators published by Pearson. Her research has received widespread international coverage, appearing in outlets such as the Guardian, Daily Mail, Scientific American, Forbes, US News, ABC News, and NBC. She is much in demand international speaker in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. She provides consultancy to the World Bank on the importance of working memory.

She was recently awarded the prestigious Joseph Lister Award by the British Science Association for bringing her scientific discoveries to a wide audience.
 
 
Sample Blog Post

http://tracyalloway.com/index.php/working-memory/iq-is-not-a-benchmark-for-academic-success/

Is Working Memory the New IQ?

IQ is often thought to be synonymous with academic success. Indeed groups like MENSA perpetuate the idea that high IQ is a prerequisite for high achievement in school.

Yet, the traditional reliance on IQ as a benchmark for academic success is misguided. There are many students who have either high or average IQ who struggle in school. Instead of doing well, they end up in the lowest ability groups in language and math. In my own research on various government-funded projects, I have come across many students like this. This is very troubling. If their IQ is in the average range, why aren’t these students achieving their potential?

Perhaps there is something else at work that explains why some students succeed while others struggle.

I undertook a study to look into this issue. I tested children at five years old and again at eleven and found that a child’s success in school is down to how good its working memory is regardless of IQ score.

The finding that working memory, rather than IQ, is what we need to look out for has important implications for schools. As opposed to IQ, working memory problems can be easily addressed by teachers so students can still achieve their potential.

It is vital that IQ is not taken as the be all and end all to intelligence. I believe that all children could fulfill their potential, regardless of IQ or background, as long as working memory is assessed and problems addressed. The key is to move away from IQ as the main predictor of success and focus on working memory instead.