Explaining Dyslexia using the WMM

Explaining Dyslexia using the Working Memory

Write down these key terms to use in this lesson:

spelling;

impaired working memory;

reading;

phonology;

comprehension;

sounds

This is Dr Tracy Alloway

An expert on dyslexia and international authority on understanding the disorder using the Working Memory Model and developing interventions to help people with dyslexia.

Time to make some notes

Advice from Dr Alloway...

Using Working Memory to understand dyslexia

• Working memory is an active processor and is different to rote memory, which involves passively memorising information. Examples of everyday tasks that require working memory include:

• Listening to, remembering, and following directions that contain multiple steps.

• Remembering a question long enough to think about it and formulate an answer.

• Carrying out the steps to a recipe when no longer looking at the recipe

• Engaging in mental arithmetic

Working memory is limited both in capacity and duration.

As you know, Miller (1956) suggests that we can hold on average seven bits of information in working memory. The duration of working memory is usually limited up to 30 seconds. Once information is lost from working memory, it cannot be retrieved.

The student who “loses” some of the steps for directions delivered orally will not be able to retrieve the steps without repetition or some other form of assistance.

Remember, working memory is a system of interlinked components.

The working memory system includes verbal and visual-spatial short-term memory stores. Verbal short-term memory holds information that can be expressed in numbers, words, and sentences. Visual-spatial short-term memory holds images, pictures, and information about location in space. Working memory also has the CE that helps us resist distractions and remain focused when engaged in a task that requires working memory.

One of the key responsibilities of working memory is to manage, manipulate, and transform information from short-term and long-term memory.

Working memory is the “go-between” for short and long-term memory. For example, solving a maths word problem involves holding on to the details of the word problem in verbal short-term memory while retrieving from long-term memory the basic maths facts needed to carry out the calculations involved in solving the problem.

Characteristics of an impaired Working Memory

Individuals with an impaired working memory tend to have trouble planning, organizing, and carrying out daily chores such as running errands, because it requires mentally formulating a “to do” list organized by time and location. Study skills may also suffer. Working memory allows us to keep track of priorities and helps us block the external or internal distractors that can derail us from the task at hand. Working memory helps us persist with tasks that require focused attention over time. Any of us, even those with strong working memories, can experience working memory problems when overly tired, anxious, or stressed.

Impaired Working Memory in the Classroom

• 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

Impaired Working Memory in the Classroom

• 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

Impact of an impaired Working Memory on Reading and Written Language

An impaired working memory can impede phonological learning and production at all levels. Consider a frequent rhyming exercise for young children. “Tell me which word rhymes with fox: truck, dog, box.”

To identify the two rhyming words, the child must hold and then compare all of the words in working memory (fox/truck, fox/dog, fox/box). When older children attempt to sound out new words, they must use their working memory to hold the entire sequence of sounds long enough to blend those sounds together.

Working memory is also key to

• linking to information held in long-term semantic memory stores to provide the meaning and pronunciation of words.

• holding and sequencing sounds for spelling and also for composing, holding, and connecting ideas in written text.

• reading comprehension and reading fluency. When reading a long sentence, paragraph or passage, working memory is what allows us to hold on to and integrate information we read early on with information that comes later. Students with strong decoding skills but impaired working memories often comment that they “can’t remember anything!” from a page that they just read.

How can people with dyslexia can be helped?

• Breaking down tasks into smaller chunks of information or simplifed instructions.

• Having diagrams, pictures or notes to reduce the mental load on the WM when completing tasks

• COGMED, a software programme to help improve phonological awareness, helping with spelling and pronunciation.

• No evidence that tinted glasses and rulers help, however it may give confidence. Having less contrast between words and the page do help - so cream or pastel coloured paper is better than white.

Multiple Choice

Which memory theory helps us to diagnose dyslexia?

• Tulving's theory on LTM

• Multi-store memory model

• Working memory model

• Reconstructive memory

Open Ended

What are common symptoms of dyslexia? (4)

Open Ended

What interventions are available to help people with dyslexia reach their potential? (4)