Strategies and Accommodations for Supporting Students with Working Memory Challenges
Students with PANS/PANDAS often face working memory, focus, and processing challenges. These strategies and accommodations help provide a comprehensive framework for supporting students with PANS/PANDAS in the classroom, enabling them to thrive academically while managing the demands of working memory and processing challenges.
Task Completion and Focus Support:
- Break tasks into clear, manageable steps and check for understanding before moving to the next step.
- Offer frequent breaks, even as short as one to two minutes, during tasks requiring sustained focus. Observing when focus begins to fade can guide the timing of breaks.
- Break information into smaller, manageable segments, giving students ample time to absorb and process each part before introducing additional content.
- Provide opportunities for movement breaks to help students reset and refocus.
- Reduce stress and distractions by creating a quiet, structured environment.
- Develop routines (e.g., for submitting assignments) to make tasks automatic and reduce cognitive load.
Memory and Retention Aids:
- Reduce the amount of school work and homework requirements to appropriate levels, focusing on reinforcing learned skills. Avoid overwhelming the student’s memory storage capacity.
- Review challenging material within one to two days to reinforce understanding and strengthen memory retention.
- Pre-teach foundational skills to lower processing demands.
- Reiterate important information through repetition.
- Provide class notes, lecture outlines, or study guides to support review.
- Encourage the use of mnemonic strategies to strengthen memory formation and retrieval.
- Simplify and breakdown instructions
- Provide written or visual directions in addition to oral instructions
- Reduce memory load by using oral “clues” for problems and writing key points on the board, so students don’t need to remember all the information at once.
Encouraging Active Learning:
- Use graphic organizers to help students plan their thoughts before writing.
- Foster connections by encouraging students to talk through new concepts.
- Support comprehension and attention by having students read their written work/books aloud.
- Edit essays by reading them aloud together.
Leveraging Tools and Technology:
- Use assistive tools like lists (paper or dry-erase boards), timers, and calendars (paper or electronic).
- Incorporate technology like word processors or dictation software programs to reduce working memory demands.
- Allow the use of dictation software for assignments.
- Permit recording of classes with a pocket digital recorder or similar device as an alternative to written notes.
- Offer earphones or noise-canceling headphones to block out distractions.
Testing and Processing Accommodations:
- Allow extra time for tests.
- Provide short breaks during testing. Observe the students during testing to see when their focus begins to fade to ensure optimal break timing.
- Reduce the number of questions on tests.
- Provide extra time for processing visual information during lessons or assessments.
- Opt for recognition-based questions (e.g., multiple choice) instead of recall-based ones where possible.
- Instruct students to preview the test and strategize how to manage their time efficiently.
- For essay-based tests, guide students to outline their ideas first, then note key concepts and elaborate on those points.
- Permit the use of reference sheets (e.g., math formulas or timelines) during tests. Students can also prepare these at home for frequent review and rewrite the key information at the start of the exam.
- Utilize technology such as computers, speech-to-text tools, recording devices, etc., to reduce the strain on working memory and extend the time to complete tasks.
- Use recognition-based questions instead of recall-based ones as appropriate.
Gabriella True
