What Does It Mean If My Child Is Diagnosed with Memory or Processing Speed Challenges?

Processing speed is the pace at which a person is able to take in, understand, and respond to information (also called cognitive speed). Working memory is an executive function that plays a big role in how we process, use, and remember information on a daily basis.

• Social difficulties (as a result of inability to quickly respond to visual and verbal information in social situations due to missed nuances in conversation and social cues)
• Language impairments (40% of students with SPS also have language difficulties)
• Processing that varies from task to task (people can have more trouble with verbal processing, visual processing, or both)
• Cognitive lag time (difficulty keeping up with the pace of an academic setting, needing more time to think, write, and/or read information)

• All of the strategies for EF and ADHD
• Providing nearpoint references (see the article on dysgraphia)
• Use of technology (like text-to-speech and word predictive software)
• Extra time to complete tasks and assignments
• Give finished models of longer assignments (what does “done” [aka final product] look like?)
• Provide wait time (think time)
• Find ways to engage the students’ interest in lengthy assignments
• Shorten repetitive assignments
• Reduce the need for handwriting
• Limit homework time
• Reduce distractions by using blank paper to cover all but one question on a worksheet
• Active reading using highlighters or sticky notes

• Perform below average in some or all areas of learning
• Have difficulty with complex reasoning
• Have trouble with tasks that have more than one step
• Stop working because they have lost track of what they are supposed to do
• Frequently engage in daydreaming
• Lack skills in planning and organization
• Have difficulty applying what they learned in a previous experience to a new situation
• Have trouble remembering all the steps in oral directions
• Have trouble thinking and doing at the same time
• Appear highly distractible and inattentive but not impulsive or hyperactive
• Demonstrate low self-esteem
• Have relationships with peers but have difficulty following conversations in a group

• Break things down – one task or piece of information at a time
• Create routines – using consistency, patience, verbal and visual cues, and incorporating automated tasks that don’t require working memory
• Outsource – use to-do lists, external organizers so fewer things have to be remembered
• Medication – medications cannot “cure” working memory issues, but, for some, medications that enhance attention can help reduce distractability, making it easier to access their working memory
• Brain training – researchers are studying if methods of brain training, like games and apps, can actually improve working memory capabilities. As research expands, we may learn more about the effectiveness of these strategies, but at the moment the long-term benefits aren’t clear. Currently, these methods should be used alongside other proven support strategies