September 27, 2015 @ 9:30 am

- It is one of the best predictors of academic achievement.
- 80% of children who scored in the lowest 10% for working memory also experienced substantial problems in math, reading or both.
- Working memory is commonly impaired in people with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities, and even in about fifteen percent of typical learners.
Consider the following. Does your child…
- Have difficulties remembering long instructions or a chain of instructions (e.g. following directions or a cooking recipe)?
- Have a hard time staying focused on (school) work if he/she isn’t extremely motivated?
- Have a hard time with problems that require holding information in mind, such as math word problems or mental arithmetic?
- Make more mistakes than other kids his age when trying to complete a task in a hurry?
- Often seem to be on the go or hyperactive?
- Have difficulty organizing tasks (e.g. planning the order in which tasks should be done, and knowing how long each will take to complete)?
- Have difficulty taking in information in longer sentences, and need to read it several times to remember and understand content?
- Very particular – so much so that everything takes a long time?
- Have problems staying with the thread of a conversation or story (both listening and speaking)?
- Often daydream in situations when she is expected to listen?
- Have trouble organizing the daily details, such as starting and completing tasks, and arriving to places on time prepared?
- Become easily distracted?
- Have difficulty being on time or have a poor concept of time (e.g. has a poor understanding of how long an hour is and/or lose track of time easily)?
- Often fidget and become restless or bored in situations that require focus and concentration?
If you answered yes to more than 4 items your child may have a working memory issue and be a candidate for brain re-training.

Dr. Sheila Clonan is a certified Cogmed Working Memory Training Coach and a Licensed Psychologist practicing in the Upstate New York areas surrounding Syracuse, Rochester, Utica, Binghamton and Watertown. By integrating Cogmed into her practice, Educational Solutions CNY, for child and adolescent testing, assessments, and reading interventions, Sheila can go beyond identifying learning problems and help set students on a path to success. Cogmed can be administered remotely via internet and weekly coach calls by phone, so call Dr. Clonan now at (315) 320-6404 or visit the website to set up a free consultation.