Summary
The video features a mother concerned about her 11-year-old daughter, who didn’t qualify for special education but was found to have low working memory and slow processing speed. Betsy Hill (Neuroeducator, President of BrainWare Learning Company) explains that labels like ADHD or learning disabilities don’t reveal how a child learns best—understanding specific cognitive skills is more useful. Weak working memory and processing speed can make children seem inattentive or oppositional, when they’re actually struggling to retain and process information. While schools often provide accommodations like extra time, these are only workarounds. Targeted cognitive training can significantly strengthen skills like working memory and processing speed.
Parent’s Concerns
• Child tested for special education but did not qualify, leaving her without school supports.
• Low working memory makes it hard to follow instructions, retain information, and comprehend reading.
• Slow processing speed causes delays in responding, completing tasks, and keeping up with peers.
• Worry that without accommodations, the child will continue to struggle academically.
• Desire for her daughter to build confidence and overcome learning challenges.
Cognitive Skills
Here are the specific skills highlighted in the video:
• Working Memory: holding and manipulating information while processing tasks, critical for reading comprehension and multi-step instructions.
• Processing Speed: how quickly information is understood and acted upon; affects nearly all learning tasks.
• Executive Functions: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility (not always tested but relevant).
• Attention Skills: often confused with memory issues when information is forgotten.
• Long-Term Memory: storing and retrieving information over time.
• Reasoning Skills: making sense of information and connecting new knowledge to prior understanding.
• Confidence (linked to cognitive skills): undermined when weaknesses cause repeated struggles.
