Does your child have attention or working memory issues?

Beyond attention, working memory  is an executive functioning skill that is key to learning and everyday life. If you suspect your child might have attention or working memory issues, this quiz may give you some solid clues. If you answer yes more than two times, you may want to consider testing.

1.    Does your child struggle to follow a set of multi-step directions like “Please pick up your napkin from the floor and throw it away, and on your way back to the table can you grab the salt from the pantry?”

It’s common for younger kids to have a hard time following directions with more than two steps, but by kindergarten most kids have that ability. Kids with visual-spatial working memory issues have a hard time visualizing the steps in a set of directions. Even if they’re able to create a mental picture, they often can’t hold onto it long enough to finish the task.

2.    Your child waits for his turn to talk while you finish a phone call, but does he forget what he wanted to say by the time you hang up?

Kids with weak working memory skills can quickly lose track of their thoughts. Even a few minutes of wait time may be too much for them to remember what they wanted to say or do.

3.    Does your child have trouble retelling the bedtime story you just read or summarizing a chapter he’s reading?

Kids with weak working memory skills have hard time juggling lots of information. With stories or books, they might struggle to remember what already happened while continuing to read or listen to more.

4.    Does the teacher tell you that your child doesn’t follow directions well, even for daily tasks?

Kids who have weak verbal working memory skills may seem as though they’re not listening to a teacher’s directions. In reality they’re probably having a hard time keeping track of everything that was said.

5.    Does your child have a hard time telling you the names of most of the kids in his class?

Remembering names can be hard for school-age kids with working memory issues. They have an easier time if they’re able to connect more information—for example, that Joe likes to eat glue—to the person’s name.

6.    Does your child have a hard time following along when his friends are having a fast-paced, lively conversation?

Kids with working memory issues often have difficulty following the thread of a conversation, especially if there are many people participating. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at our Northern Virginia office.

Taken from National Center for Learning Disabilities