From: Stephen Marsh 11/11/99 18:32:05 Subject: Short Term Memory post id: 6642 I recall some time ago Dr Karl getting a call on JJJ from someone asking if short term memory could be improved. Dr Karl said yes, it can be improved through simple exercises. Does anyone know were I could access these type of exercises, for a year 7 age child who could do with a helping hand? Thanks. From: helen 11/11/99 19:05:30 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 6648 don't know about exercises, but there are a bunch of tricks you can learn. STM is usually able to store 5 to 9 "units" of information (like the digits in a phone number), and I don't know of anything which can alter this much (although of course I'd defer to Dr Karl!). However, when you're presented with more than this meagre quota, there are tricks you can use to get around it. What kind of difficulty is your child having? From: Stephen 11/11/99 20:24:19 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 6657 Thanks Helen, The problem seems to centre on recalling things. Eg, when class notes are written on the white board and need to be copied down. He seems to start copying the notes, but after 2 or 3 words needs to check what was next. This, as you can imagine slows the speed that he can copy notes. As a result of this he sometimes does not get all of the notes and needs to get a copy from a friend later when possible. As a result of this he often does not have all the notes and cannot revise because of the incomplete notes. Teachers sometimes will give multiple instructions for a lesson or task to be followed. He will quite often forget one or more of these instructions and not complete the required tasks and can be sure that he wasn't asked to do "that" as well. Where does STM come from, is it a passed down thing or is it a case of exercising the Brain more effectively. Thanks From: Andy 2 11/11/99 23:08:22 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 6677 Make sure that your child gets a good boost of carbs for breakfast. Cereal,toast etc. From: helen 12/11/99 10:35:12 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 6744 this is a tricky one Stephen, and I'm a bit hesitant to start handing out advice on something that's obviously going to be pretty crucial to your son's success at/enjoyment of highschool: sounds like he's not only missing stuff, but the problem is compounding itself as he gets stressed about it. From what you've said, it may be that the problem is with his iconic and echoic memory - the very brief pre-STM storage of images (words from the whiteboard) and sounds (teachers' instructions). Reasons for this could be just about anything, but I'd be going for distraction, myself: any new stimulus effectively wipes out your iconic/echoic storage, and it could be he's having less luck in filtering out distractions than his classmates. Practical solutions to this are a little out of my field, and it may well be worthwhile to make a one-off visit to an educational psychologist (or the school counsellor) to check out current techniques (and to be sure there's not something else going on which is just manifesting itself in this way). However, a few things might help in the meantime: note-taking skills: it might sound obvious, but check that he's not trying to get everything down word-for-word. Note-taking is a skill, and it may be that he just needs practice. If need be, help him practise taking point-notes (just enough to remind him what the material was), and get him to write them up that night as homework. This will help with his revision later on, too. avoid making comparisons with other kids: part of the trouble for some kids is that they see their friends are able to do something (like copying notes verbatim), and think there must be something wrong with them because they find they can't do it. This can start a bit a of a vicious cycle, where the child is thinking more about how hopeless they are at the task than about actually doing it. Instead of focussing on the can do/can't do self-talk, try to get him to focus on whether he's getting better at it or not, which he's likely to have a good bit more control over. This is one difference between "performance orientation" and "learning orientation" - kids who focus on the learning aspect end up less stressed and usually do better in the long run. tricks of the trade: it may not be that your son has anything qualitatively different about his memory than that of any of the other kids, but that he's not using some of the tricks they've picked up. Things like rehearsing instructions mentally (repeating them in your head), "chunking" information so it's a bit more manageable (grouping things together so there's less to try to keep track of), jotting down notes to yourself about what to do, and checking with others can all help our memory along a bit. Again, if he has it in his head there's "something wrong" with is memory, he may be more shy about checking instructions with the teacher or with his friends, imagining everybody understood but him, when in fact half the class could probably benefit from a little repetition. One last thing - I know kids are shy about being "special" at school, but it's probably worth having a word to some of his teachers, especially if there's one or two who he has particular difficulty with. They may not even realise he's having these problems, and will probably have some good suggestions themselves. Good luck - I'm sure you'll have it sorted out in no time. :-)helen From: Min-Zhao Lee 16/11/99 23:48:53 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 7846 Take the following into account: Energy source, sleep, concentration... From: Dharpy 7/02/00 23:21:08 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 36106 Hello everyone. I'm just reading through the FAQ on this topic. I have been a heavy dope smoker for several years. In this time I have noticed the usual effects of smoking including reduced STM. I have however recently given it away (mixed feelings about it though) and I was wondering if, in time, my STM will improve or am I stuck this way forever? I recently did an IQ test and even while I was stoned I still had an IQ of 135, so I guess my mind still funtions relatively well. If anybody knows any information about this I would be very grateful. Thanking you in advance, Dharpy. From: Kothos 7/02/00 23:37:41 Subject: re: Short Term Memory post id: 36128 I series of New Scientist articles seemed to indicate that, apart from the health effects (lung damage ect) you get all of your faculties back after stopping except maybe brain speed. Still, up to you what you do, at least you don't smoke ciggies or drink alcohol (do you? that would be sick... ;-p ) This forum is un-moderated. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual poster and not the ABC. The ABC reserves the right to remove offensive or inappropriate messages.