The Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics of Children With Low Working Memory

I recently sat down with the parents of a middle school student who has managed to barely get by in school. When we finished an in-depth testing process we discovered that he has some serious learning problems. His parents told me with aching regret, that in the past, they had punished their son and taken things away because they had been told that his poor performance in school was due to “laziness and a behavior problem.” He had been to well-known tutoring companies, was receiving extra help at school, and his parents even went as far as consulting a psychiatrist about medication.

Have you ever seen one of these kids that look “lazy”?

Maybe they always have their head on the desk. Others just never seem to be able to get started or finish. Or maybe they just seem tired all the time, moving slowly, working slowly, barely able to muster any energy until it’s time for recess, P.E., or lunch. When asked about homework, they might say they didn’t have time, or didn’t have the right book, or maybe even say they just didn’t feel like doing it.

When teachers have gone “above and beyond,” done all they can do and the student doesn’t appear to be trying, lazy is often the only obvious conclusion left. However…

What we know about students is that if they could do the work, they would do it. 
Not doing work is really embarrassing, and no student wants to be embarrassed. So what is it with these lazy-like kids?

These are often children who have struggled all year long, year after year. Being lazy is an easy way to genuinely protect their pride by avoiding a real difficulty with learning. Difficulty learning usually has its root in one or more areas of inefficient processing. The brain’s ability to process is quite complex and thus there are a number of things that could go wrong and interfere with school performance. The key to getting these children back on track lies in identifying and strengthening their underlying processing skills. When this is resolved, you can expect three things to flourish…their learning, their motivation, and their self-worth.

Knowledge is power!