GENERAL ISSUES
How do memory difficulties affect us?
Individuals with auditory memory problems tend to have variable concentration - poorer for tasks involving written material than for practical problem-solving activities but also showing variation from day to day. Auditory memory difficulties in particular affect concentration and cause the individual to appear distractible (day dreaming, inattentive, lacking in motivation, giving poor effort) and therefore performance can appear erratic. This is not volitional, deliberate or the result of laziness (though it may appear to be so), but the effects of an underlying vulnerability in auditory recall. This requires more effort to sustain attention which in turn is more fatiguing, and this in turn lowers concentration.
For the individual with learning difficulties, they do not understand why one minute they can get things right and recall accurately and at other times cannot recall anything. Hence they come to feel very insecure about their own abilities and seek reassurance from others or avoid certain activities where they fear their weakness will be revealed. Observers often find themselves thinking or saying 'if you paid attention and tried you could do it'. However the individual is actually attending and trying their best and the observer cannot see this effort.
For some, this less effective performance is likely to show when required to deal with a volume of information that has to be acted on, for example carrying out instructions when reading for comprehension and doing mathematics, (particularly mental arithmetic) and when required to produce written output, (particularly at speed or in volume). Most importantly it can mean that carrying out instructions in general, and in the classroom in particular, is more difficult for the individual. It may also mean there may be difficulties in taking on new concepts initially. This latter difficulty is more likely to be the result of difficulty in recalling the material, than an inability to understand the material per se.
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