[senco-forum] Re Short term memory deficit: Ruths query

Short Term memory deficit.: Ruth's query.

While looking into the fact that 80% of children learned to read, however well or badly they were taught, it did seem that a common feataure of those who were left behind by this approach was a short term memory deficit. I had already theorised that the vast majority of children learn to read painlessly by internalising thier own personal decoding reference library and this seemed to fit the idea that those with short term memory deficits would have difficutly in internalising such a personal facility - not because their memory capacity was too limited to store such a reference library but because such 'low priority' images might have diffculty in being retained long enough in short term memory to gain access to longer term memory. To test this theory, I put together a 'Word Recognition' course with progression and internalising capabilities which could be completed in a single term at fifteen minutes a day. I reasoned that words presented singly rather as part of a current of words in a prose passage might stand a better chance of retention. I used the course experimentally with four children - one of which was my own grandson, two with private tutors and one in a comprehensive school. All four children made remarkable gains in reading which brought their reading ages at least into line with their chronical ages. One of the private tutors in fact conceded that they had not completed the course saying that the child's reading score had improved so much, halfway through the course that she felt it unncecssary to continue with it!!!

I thought it might be a useful remedial tool for children with short term memory deficit but no-one appeared to be interested - the mood was for 'phonics based programmes' and anything else was not 'on message' so the theory was never really tested with a decent sized sample of children . I am not convinced that short term memory can be improved but I am convinced that it can be overcome, at least as far as reading is concerned.

Eddie C.