Multi-step commands

I dont have any great advice but I didnt want you to feel ignored

Sounds to me like you are doing all the right things. I often wonder if we can fix all the glitches or if we should accept some and teach compensation skills. How old is your daughter?

Programs like audioblox might be worth a look-see.

My son had a difficult time remembering sentences for dictation. We have practiced that by simply practicing it and he has improved soooo much. If your daughter is old enough, this could help. Have her write “The monkey put the red cap on his tail.” You want to only say it once eventually and lengthen the sentence eventually. Go for high visual descriptions!

I guess Im suggesting that ANYTHING which helps memory should help with 3 step directions so think in those terms. Surely, if you are female, youve played that shower game where the hostess shows a tray of objects then covers them and the guests have to write what was on the tray. You could have fun with games like that. There are also battery operated games which teach skills like this out there-Simon comes to mind, but there are more movement involved ones available. There is even an at home version of Dance Dance revolution!!!

Giving a person a very short written list can sometimes help. When a task is done, that task is crossed out and the next task is started.

Some memory difficulties can be recognized but it can be a challenge to easily overcome them.

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/auditory.asp

http://home.earthlink.net/~mcoleman/cpdadd.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html

Regarding ADHD, there are a few very striking, dramatic cases where the right ADHD medicine temporarily plugs in aspects of the memory, however, the ADHD meds (the central nervous system stimulants/alerting agents) do not work for everyone. There also are some types of epilepsy where the memory is impacted and occasionally the right epilepsy medicine can temporarily improve the memory for some people (not all people).

Some very conservative doctors tend to wait a number of years before trying any medicines; they avoid trying medicines with very young children.

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I’m really trying to develop tools for my daughter to circumvent her neurodevelopmental glitches. Right now we are working on multi-step commands. If I ask my daughter to feed the fish, wash her hands, and set the table she is likely to forget one of the three tasks. We are starting with visualization (picture: fish, hands scrubbing and utensils) and secondly, repeating the directions verbally under her breath. She also sometimes memorizes just the first letter of each task and then recalling the letter first and then what it stands for. This last technique is her own home-grown idea.

Has anyone worked through this problem and what technique has worked.

It’s a constant issue (even when children DON’T have ADHD symptoms!) I have our children state back exactly what is being asked - not just “clean the counter”, but “wash the dirty dishes, clean out the sink, and wipe the counter down with the sponge, and look over it when you are done to make sure it is clean.” I also remind them of the consequences if they “forget”, and have them tell me back the consequences.

Probably more effective is, I just tell them one thing at a time and acknowledge them when it is done. A checklist also works great, except that my kids hate it. I might also consider betting them that they can’t remember to do all three things at once. This works really well for the more oppositional types.

–- Steve