Auditory Memory: Holding On to What You Just Heard
Auditory memory means holding what was just said long enough to use it. A child may lose your words for other reasons too. The words may not have been heard clearly. Your voice may not have stood out from the room. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
TL;DR
- Auditory memory means holding what was just said long enough to use it. On our pages, the name describes a skill. It is not a diagnosis, and not a type of child. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- Several things can make a child lose what you said. The words may not have been heard clearly. Your voice may not have stood out from the room. The words may have slipped while being held in mind. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- Auditory memory is a name you may hear. Most working-memory studies we hold use the word verbal instead. Verbal means words and sounds. Studies of groups do not show a weak spot in any one child. If no skill has gone, start with the teacher.
- Practice reaches the thing it is practice at. A checklist used on the homework builds checklist-and-homework. A memory game played instead has not been shown to reach the reading or the math. If no skill has gone, start with the teacher.
- Reduce the load. Write instructions down as well as saying them. Give one step at a time. None of that is cheating. If no skill has gone, start with the teacher.
Auditory memory means holding what was just said long enough to use it. On our pages, the name describes a skill. It is not a diagnosis.
”Auditory memoryWhat auditory memory means
One listening skill is holding what was just said long enough to use it. You may hear this called auditory memory. On our pages, the name describes a skill. It is not a diagnosis, and not a type of child.
Working memory means holding something in mind while you use it. In our view, working memory and auditory memory overlap. Most working-memory studies we hold use the word verbal instead. Verbal means words and sounds.
Our page on auditory processing covers what auditory processing means.
Why a child loses what you just said
Several things can make a child lose what you said. The words may not have been heard clearly. Your voice may not have stood out from the room. The words may have slipped while being held in mind. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart.
In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What memory studies cannot tell you about your child
Alloway and colleagues (2006) tested working memory in a group of children. They could tell verbal and visual-spatial working memory apart. We could read only the study's summary.
That finding is about a group of children. It is not a checklist for one child.
Our page on auditory and visual working memory covers studies of groups.
In our view, verbal and visual-spatial working memory are not learning styles. We do not sort children into learning styles. We do not use the term auditory learner.
Memory games
Practice reaches the thing it is practice at. A checklist used on the homework builds checklist-and-homework. A memory game played instead has not been shown to reach the reading or the math.
Our page on a child who forgets everything you say covers memory games.
This page makes no claim for any program, game or exercise.
What helps at home
Reduce the load. Write instructions down as well as saying them. Give one step at a time. Ask for a printed copy instead of copying from the board. None of that is cheating.
Written steps let the child check rather than remember.
We hold no study that tests these home steps. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that they do not work.
More on memory and listening
Our page on working, short-term and long-term memory covers the three words. Our page on a child who needs everything repeated covers that pattern.
Our page on processing difficulties has more.
In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
If your child has lost a skill
Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Schoolwork well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
- Extreme upset about schoolwork.
- Complete avoidance of school or learning.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
A child who loses a two-part instruction may follow a one-part instruction perfectly. Split it into two single steps, and notice what changes.
Two sentences for an email home: "Your child sometimes loses track of steps in class. What do you notice at home?"
Tonight, note two times your child lost what you had just said. Note what was said, and what else was going on. Bring the notes when you ask your child's doctor about hearing. This is a record, not a test.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
An overview of processing skills. Our work on each runs alongside reading, spelling or math instruction, not in place of it.
Common questions from parents
What is auditory memory?
Auditory memory means holding what was just said long enough to use it. Most working-memory studies we hold use the word verbal instead. Verbal means words and sounds. On our pages, the name describes a skill. It is not a diagnosis, and not a type of child. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Is auditory memory the same as working memory?
In our view, the two overlap. Working memory means holding something in mind while you use it. Some of what a child holds is words and sounds. Some is pictures and positions. Most working-memory studies we hold call the words-and-sounds part verbal. One review says researchers use "working memory" in three slightly different ways (Cowan, 2008). The review draws on research with adults. If no skill has gone, start with the teacher.
My child forgets what I say. Is that auditory memory?
We cannot tell you that for your child. Several things can make a child lose what you said. The words may not have been heard clearly. Your voice may not have stood out from the room. The words may have slipped while being held in mind. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.