Understanding Working Memory and Its Impact on ADHD

TLDR; Working memory allows us to hold and manipulate information for a few seconds, guiding decision-making. ADHD may lead to smaller working memory capacity, affective responses taking up space, slower processing speed, and cognitive overload, impacting task performance.

💡 Working Memory Function

Working memory is an active mental workspace, allowing the manipulation of information for a few seconds during cognitive activities.

It guides decision-making to prevent behavior dominated by immediate sensory cues.

Long-term memory, on the other hand, stores information for longer-term use and is triggered by cues in the environment or working memory.

🎓 Illustration: Typical Child

A typical child processes and holds complex instructions in working memory, retrieves critical information, and protects existing information from interference.

The child extracts and stores critical information from the PA announcement in long-term memory for later use.

📊 Illustration: Student with ADHD

A student with ADHD may have a smaller working memory capacity and affective responses taking up valuable space.

Slower processing speed and cognitive overload due to irrelevant information may lead to the loss of relevant information from working memory.

The student may be left with the gestalt of the task, impacting performance.