Executive Function Toolkit: Memory

 

According to Harvard, “Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.”

 

Memory- People with executive function weaknesses often struggle with memory. They can’t remember directions, what their homework is, what they need for a test, or where they put their keys.

To develop memory skills try these ideas.

1.    Use memory games. These could be the old fashioned “I went on a trip and I brought: an apple, bed, caterpillar, doughnut, …” (after repeating the list, the player adds one more starting with the next letter of the alphabet), or the card game memory (show how to visualize or verbalize the items as you turn up each card in an orderly fashion to try and match them). Or they could be fancy app related games such as Fit Brains Trainer or Lumosity.

2.    Ask children to try and remember something from the morning to dinner time. It could be what’s for dinner or who are we going to visit on the weekend. In the early stages of this practice, you might not be able to go that long. You might look at a recipe and say I need eggs and milk from the refrigerator. Can you help me remember? Then go to the refrigerator, open the door and ask, what do I need?

3.    Practice learning things by rote. For young children this could be nursery rhymes. For older children, try movie or poetry quotes. Compete with your child to see if you can learn the quote first.

4.    Write things out by hand. Our brains connect memory with handwriting far better than with typing. Write things you want to remember on a paper calendar, sticky note or in a list. Model the writing and the referring to the note/list.