Executive Functioning: Working Memory

What is it?

Working memory is the memory we use to hold and manipulate information. It’s the kind of memory we use to help us remember instructions and complete tasks. There’s already a limited space in our brains for working memory. Some have more space than others, and those of us with ADHD typically have much less space than those who are Neurotypical. Have you ever left one room to get something and as soon as you entered the other room you forgot what it was? That’s working memory.

Imagine there’s a whiteboard, about the size of one in a school classroom, in your brain full of all the things you are currently working on accomplishing. Eventually the whiteboard fills up so you have to go and erase some things to make room for more things. However, for those of us with ADHD our whiteboard is smaller, so it fills up quicker. And sometimes it’s filling up with things that may not matter to the task at hand, but our brain is making it a priority, taking up more space than needed.

Working memory can be all kinds things. It could be remembering the steps to a math problem on a test, pulling out your phone to text your friend, or even being given instructions to complete a task. Working memory effects all areas of life. Some of these areas may seem small, but they can have big effects on our lives.

This effects children with ADHD even more. So lets go back to the white board visual and imagine it being smaller and slick now. The information may have very well been written down on their wipe board, but it is so slick the information just slipped away. This may look like inattentiveness or even laziness, it’s just harder for them to hold on to that kind of information.

Tools to try

There are a ton of great tools to help with working memory. These tools can work great for children or adults. There is no such thing as age limit when it comes to improving your life style.

Visual schedules- Creating a schedule on piece of paper to show everything that needs to be accomplished. This can be helpful to free up some of that mental space and use it to actually complete tasks on the scheudle.

Chunking(breaking it down)- Taking a task and breaking it into multiple different steps, but only doing a 1 or maybe 2 steps at one time.

Repetition- Repeating directions in your head when they are given to you multiple times to help remember them. Writing down directions as they are given is a form of repetition.

Visual reminders- Sticky notes, timers, alarms, reminders. Anything that you can use to remind yourself when something needs to be completed by or when to start something.