Why Is Auditory Working Memory So Important?

Takeaway: Auditory working memory is a virtual 'workspace' in our mind. It's where we temporarily store sounds we hear as we try to make ... Skiptocontent   WhyIsAuditoryWorkingMemorySoImportant? May25,2021 TheEdPsychPractice NoComments Referrals AuditoryInformation,AuditoryWorkingMemory,ExecutiveFunctioning,ListeningSkills,MultiSensoryLearning,RememberingSkills,SpeechandLanguageTherapist,TactileFeedback,VisualInformation Takeaway:Auditoryworkingmemoryisavirtual‘workspace’inourmind.It’swherewetemporarilystoresoundswehearaswetrytomakesenseofthem.Thisworkingmemoryiscrucialinsomanydailytaskslikesolvingproblems,learning,followinginstructions,andmore.Andbecauseofthis,childrenwithpoorauditoryworkingmemoryoftenstruggleinschool.Butiftheycanlearntoworkwiththeirstrengths,instead,they’llbeabletoovercomemostdifficulties.  Ourbrainshaveanimpressiveabilitytoabsorbandmakesenseofinputfromavastlycomplexworld.Andworkingmemoryhelpswiththis.Thinkofitasatemporary‘workspace’inyourmind. Imagineyou’rereadinganarticleaboutthepandemic.You’retakinginstatistics,storiesfromsurvivors,reportsfromdoctors,andsoon.Buthowdoyoumakesenseofitall?Thinkofatinkererputtingoutthepartsofabrokentoasteronatable,first,beforedecidinghowtofixit.Yourbrainisthesame.Itneedstolayoutallthatarticle’sinformationsomewhere,beforeyoucanstarttomakesenseofit.Andworkingmemoryisabrainsystemthathelpsyoudothis.Itholdsthethingswe’vejustlearnedinstorageforshortperiodsoftimesothatwecanfitthemtogetherlikeapuzzleandgetsomemeaningfromthem.So,ifyou’rereadingalistofnumbersaboutmortalityratesindifferentcountries,yourbrainplaysaroundwiththosestatisticsinyourworkingmemory—lookingforpatternsandmeaning.Workingmemoryisacoreabilityweneedforthingslikeplanning,reasoning,andproblem-solving,andit’spartofourcriticalexecutivefunctions.(Note:workingmemoryisdifferentfromshort-termmemory.Withshort-termmemory,you’rejustholdinginformationinyourmind.Incontrast,workingmemoryletsyouinteractandplayaroundwiththatinformation.) Auditoryworkingmemoryisworkingmemoryforsound.Andit’showwemakesoundsstayinourmindslongafterthey’vedisappearedfromtheoutsideworld. There’sadifferencebetween‘hearing’and‘listening’.Whenwe‘hear’someonetalking,ourearstakeinthesoundstheymakeandsendthemtoourbrains.Thishappensautomaticallywithoutusrealisingit.But‘listening’ismuchmorethanthat.It’ssomethingwedoconsciouslytoprocesswhatwe’veheard.Wemight‘hear’someonespeakingtous,butit’sonlyby‘listening’thatwefigureoutwhatthey’resaying.Thisprocessingtakestime,though,andthesoundswouldhavedisappearedbythen.Auditoryworkingmemorysolvesthisproblembykeepingthosesoundsinourmindsforabitwhilehelpingusmakesenseofthem. Auditoryworkingmemoryplaysanessentialroleinyourchild’slifebutatamuchmorebasiclevelthanyou’dthink. It’sobviouslygoingtobehardtodowellinschoolifyourworkingmemoryhasn’tdevelopedenough.Afterall,you’llneedalotofmentalworkspacetosolveamultistepmathsorscienceproblem.Butworkingmemoryaffectsyourchildatamuchmorebasiclevel.She’llneedalotofitjusttopayattentioninclass.Forexample,imagineateachertalkingaboutanassignmentduethenextday.Yourchildneedstohearthewords,holdtheminhermind,andthenputthemtogethertoformsentencesusingherworkingmemory.Ifanypartofthatchainisbroken,shewon’tunderstandwhat’sgoingonandwillprettysoonloseinterest.It’snotthatshedoesn’twanttolearn—herworkingmemoryisjustlettingherdown.(Thisiswhyevenchildrenwithoutworkingmemoryissuescanstruggletofocusinnoisyenvironments.Moreoftheirmentalcapacityisuseduptoseparatespeechfromthesurroundingnoise,whichmeansthere’slessofitavailableforworkingmemory.) Ifyourchildhasissueswithherauditoryworkingmemory,it’llusuallyshowupinoneofthefollowingways. Yourchild’sworkingmemorywillgraduallyincreaseasshegrowsolder.Fromage4toadulthood,she’lllikelydoubleherworkingmemorycapacity—bothhowmuchinformationshecanholdatatime,andhowlongshecanholdthatinformationfor.Butifthereareissuesalongtheway,here’showthey’lloftenshowup: Reading,writing,andspelling.Poorauditoryworkingmemorywillmakeitharderforyoungchildrentolearnhowtoreadandwrite.Thisisbecausethey’llhavetroublelinkingletterswithsounds—anissuethat’salsoseenwithlearningdifferences. Takingnotes.Yourchildmightstruggletotakenotesbecauseshe’llhavetomultitask.She’llhavetobothmakesenseofwhattheteacherissayingandwriteitdownasshelistens. Solvingproblems.Weusuallyneedtogothroughafewmentalstepswhenwe’retryingtosolveanyproblem.Butsincechildrenwithpoorauditoryworkingmemoryfindithardtokeepthesestepsinmind,theymightfindthisfrustrating. Learninglanguages.Newwords,inparticular,becomeanightmareforyourchildbecauseshe’llhavetoprocessunfamiliarsyllablecombinations.(Wordsshealreadyknowshavebeendeeplyembeddedinherbrain,soittakeslessworkingmemorytomakesenseofthem.) Followinginstructions.Yourchildmightstruggleifyougiveheralongsetofinstructionslike:‘Pleasebringmethebrownbook[nottheyellowone]fromthebedsidetable.It’sinthe2nddrawer,behindtheoldremotes.’That’swaytoomuchinformationpackedtooclosetogether. Researchersarestilltryingtofigureoutiftheycanimproveworkingmemory.Butinthemeantime,yourchildcanlearnwaystoadapt. Thekeyistohelpyourchilddevelopskillstocompensateforherauditoryworkingmemorydifficulties.Forexample,shecangetintothehabitofjottingthingsdown.Longinstructions,directions,newconcepts,andvocabularylistsallbecomemoremanageablewhenthey’reinwriting.Shecangooverthematherownpacelater,whichtakesoffalotofpressureinthemoment.Also,bywritingthingsdown,she’susinghermotorskillstosupportherlisteningability.Movingherhandasshewritesembedstheinformationinhermindmorethoroughlythanifshejustheardit.(That’swhymanystudentsfindthatre-copyingtheirclassnoteslaterhelpsthemprocesstheinformationbetter.)Shecanalsousediagrams,photographs,videos,calendars,andtimelinestoharnessmoreofhervisualskills.Forexample,ifteacherscangiveherawrittenoutlineofaparticularlessonbeforetheyteachit,it’llhelpherorientherselfevenifshe’sdistractedinclass. What’scritical,though,isthatyourchildrecognisesandacceptsthesedifficulties.Becausethenshe’llbemoreopentonovelsolutions. Manychildrenareembarrassedthattheystrugglewiththingstheirclassmatesseemtofindeasy.Butifyourchildlearnstoacceptherchallengesforwhattheyare—justchallenges,notshortcomings—she’llbeabletogoaboutsolvingherproblems.Forexample,ifshefindssomeonegettingfrustratedwithher,shecouldexplainthatshefindsittoughtofocusonthingsandrememberthem.Mostpeoplewillimmediatelybecomemuchmorepatientwhentheyrealiseshe’snotbeingdifficultonpurpose.Shecouldthenoffersuggestionslike,‘Couldyouspeakalittlemoreslowly,please?’or‘Couldyouwritethatdownforme?’ Foryoungerchildren,youcanmakeagameofpractisingmemoryskills. Onewayoftakingthe‘work’outofbuildingmemoryskillsistomakeagameofit.Topractisefollowinginstructions,youcouldplaySimonSayswithyourchild.Oryoucouldgiveherasimpletask(likefetchingsomethingforyou)andthengraduallystartaddingmoretaskstothelist.Orifyou’vejustfinishedstorytime,youcanquizheraboutherfavouritepartsofthestory.Tryaskingfunbutunusualquestionsthatchallengeher,soshe’llhavetothinkthroughheranswers.Thesesortsofgamesallowhertofaceherdifficultiesinasafesettingwithyouaround.Ifshegetsfrustrated,you’llbeabletoguideherthroughthatfrustration,whichwillhelpheralotlateronintheclassroom. Doyouthinkyourchildhasdifficultieswithherauditoryworkingmemory?Ifso,considercontactingaspecialist. Weunderstandthatsomechildrenhaveworkingmemorychallengesthatonlyaspecialistcanhelpwith.That’swhyTheEdPsychPracticeoffersonlineassessments,consultation,advice,andproblem-solvingstrategiesforparents,nurseries,schools,andcollegesinLondon.Wehavepsychologistsandtherapistswhocanhelpassessyourchildandofferguidanceandsupport. 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