Memory and Speech-Language Therapy

Mattie Marks, CCC-SLP

A skill that can be worked on in speech therapy and at home are cognitive skills such as attention and memory that may be having an impact on a child’s communication skills. Attention and memory are both skills that may have a big impact on a child’s ability to learn and use language if they are impaired.

Today we will focus on memory and memory strategies you can use if your child is having difficulty with language memory. These strategies are best for kids who are a little older (elementary age and above).

1. Acronyms: this is where we use letter clues, such as the first letters of a list of words, to help us remember. Some common examples are ROY G BIV to help us remember colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) or All Dogs Eat Grass to remember order of musical notes ADEG. You can make your own using letters or words that make sense and are meaningful to you.

2. Rehearsal and Repetition: This is where you repeat the words over and over. You can also rehearse at increasingly larger intervals (e.g., repeat the word or words after 1 minute, 5 minute, 10 minutes, etc.).

3. Visualization: This is where you picture the words you are trying to remember in your mind. Making your picture silly or outlandish is ok and may even help with memory (e.g., if I wanted to remember a grocery list of milk, eggs, and cereal, I may create a picture in my mind of a bear drinking milk, while throwing eggs, and wearing a cereal box as a hat. You could also make and visualize a hand motion that is related to the words you are trying to remember.

4. Personal Connection: This involves relating a new piece of information to something that is important to you. For example, if I meet a new person named Janet, one way I would remember her name is by thinking about an aunt I have who is also named Janet.

5. Association: This is when you associate a new piece of information with an already established habit, such as practicing a speech word every time you brush your teeth or get in the car.

6. Songs: This is exactly what it sounds like- use songs to help with memory. I still remember the quadratic equation to this day because my 8 th grade math teacher gave us an assignment where we had to make it into a song! This strategy is helpful for younger and older kids alike. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus- all of the kid songs and nursery rhymes also help with language memory. If it is an older child, you could have the child replace words to one of their favorite songs with information they need to remember.