Eye on: Memory Prosthetics (Article published in the Villager Newspaper) Our family lives can get so busy, it’s not surprising that our children sometimes lose track of their daily responsibilities. Maintaining expectations can be especially difficult for children with behavior or attention challenges. Parents and care-­‐givers can help guide children by providing visual and auditory reminders to prompt memory into action. The neuroscientific term for this is ‘memory prosthetics.” Just as a prosthetic arm would augment the functioning of a person who had lost a limb, a memory prosthetic can enhance our memory functions. As a mother, educator, and therapist, I have implemented numerous visual and auditory prosthetics with children. Prosthetics such as charts, index cards, and timers can be used with children to help them remember and be responsible. For example, a chart that lists specific positive behaviors can be used as a means to special incentives. In our house, each plus and minus written on the chart corresponds to a quarter earned or lost. At the end of the week the balance is given to our daughter as her allowance. She then uses her earnings to purchase objects of delight such as Scholastic books and DSI cartridges. Colored index cards of various sizes can be used to write special mantras and cues. They can even be laminated for extra durability. For example, one of my students has learned to pause before acting as she reads a card that asks “what are the consequences of this choice?” One of my adolescent patients sets a watch-­‐timer to alert him to the times that the dog should be fed its meals. No matter where he is or what he is doing, the timer reminds him of mealtime. If he is away from the house he will call home and tell a family member that Fido is hungry. There are so many practical ways that our children can benefit from memory prosthetics. But then again, couldn’t we all? I think I’ll write myself a posted note to send this column to the newspaper! By Dr. Kristin Bewick, Associate Education Professor at Wilkes University and Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapist at the John Heinz Institute. Dr. Bewick is the owner and director of LearnMore Services, LLC. Eye on: Memory Acronyms (Article published in the Villager Newspaper)
We all know of someone who uses text messaging abbreviations, but we may not think
about where this common form of “shorthand” has it origins or how it can be helpful to
our everyday memory. A text message abbreviation is really a type of Acronym. From
the Greek ‘acro’ meaning ‘initial’ and ‘nym’ meaning ‘word’, by definition, an acronym
is a word formed from the initial letters of a word phrase; such as PTA, for Parent
Teacher Association. Acronyms were spawned around 1943 at a time in history when
war-time organizations held long titles, such as UNRRA, for United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration. By extension, over the years acronyms have been used to
help people remember lists of facts or steps in a process. Classic examples are HOMES,
for the five Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) and ABC (airway,
breathing, circulation) for the steps in CPR (also an acronym for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation.) People of all ages can be taught specific acronyms or can have fun creating
their own. The more advanced acronym artists can develop acronymic sentences, often
referred to as Acrostics. Acrostics are series of lines in which certain letters, usually the
first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence; as My Dear
Aunt Sally reminds us of the mathematical order of operations to Multiply and Divide
before you Add and Subtract.) Think about ways that acronyms may help you remember
the first five presidents, the ingredients in a recipe, or a list of store items. BTWTFYA
(by the way thanks for your attention.)
This is the second article in a series about memory strategies submitted by Dr.
Kristin Bewick, Associate Professor at Wilkes University, Cognitive Rehabilitation
Therapist at the John Heinz Institute, and owner of LearnMore Services, LLC.