Working memory is the brain’s ability to hold, process, and manipulate information over short periods of time. It allows us to follow directions, solve problems, engage in conversation, and make decisions in real time. It’s not simply short-term memory, it’s the mental workspace where thinking happens.

Working memory involves the brains ability to process information in real time, and therefore processing speed is critical. If a child can process what the teacher is saying, but the speed is too slow, they will miss the next 3-4 pieces of information the teacher is giving.

In school settings, “working memory deficits,” are often addressed with practice, repetition, and academic accommodation.

But here’s the truth:
Working memory doesn’t start in the classroom. It starts in the body. Before we can hold and manipulate information in our minds, our nervous systems must be integrated.

What is Functional Working Memory, Really?

Functionally, working memory is the brain’s ability to hold information temporarily, like remembering a phone number just long enough to dial it (While a toddler is hanging on our leg, there’s music on, and we are keeping track of the three things we need to tell the person we’re calling.) It allows us to stay on track despite distractions, with multi-step tasks, follow conversations, solve problems, and make decisions in real time.

But working memory depends on two things:
• Integrated and appropriate sensory input
• Coordinated plan for output

And both of these depend on a brain and body that are integrated. When the nervous system is fragmented because of retained reflexes, unintegrated vestibular pathways, poor interhemispheric communication, dysregulated sensory systems, or a cerebellum that is not making tasks automatic, working memory becomes fragile or fails entirely.

This is one of the most difficult things to discuss with school teams. All of the compensatory techniques our children are taught are not helpful because they must be remembered. Holding these tasks in the cortex instead of it being automatic by the cerebellum, destroys the processing and significantly decreases the speed.

For example, if you are working on “reading Comprehension,” and the method is to highlight the topic sentence, or underline important words, etc., the child has absolutely no space in their thinking brain to actually comprehend what they are reading.

Integration Over Instruction

You cannot teach or compensate your way out of a working memory challenge.
You have to build your way out.

That means:
• Primitive reflex integration to eliminate neuromotor “noise”
• Cerebellar activation to support motor timing, procedural learning, and automaticity
• Vestibular and proprioceptive input to improve sensory regulation and postural control
• Bilateral and cross-pattern movement to strengthen communication between brain hemispheres
• Interoceptive awareness and breathwork to engage the vagus nerve and improve emotional regulation

These are not “extra supports.”
They are the foundation for a brain that can attend, remember, and act on information.

What You See Is Just the Surface

When a child can’t follow a multi-step direction, seems forgetful, or has trouble focusing, the instinct is to “work on memory.” But what you’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg.

Is the child regulated?
Are the vestibular and cerebellar systems functioning?
Have primitive reflexes been integrated?
Can the child coordinate both sides of their body? Do they know where their body is in space?
Is the child’s visual motor system efficent?

If the answer is no to any of these, working memory is compromised. Not because of a cognitive ceiling, but because of an unmet developmental need.

Across the Lifespan, It’s Never Too Late

As always, there is good news.

Neuroplasticity is on your side. At any age, targeted sensory-motor input can change the brain’s wiring and improve working memory, and not just for kids with developmental disabilities, but for adults navigating ADHD, perimenopause, aging, or stress-induced cognitive fog.

It’s not about tricks or tips to “boost memory.”
It’s about giving the brain the foundational support it needs to organize and retain information at all.

What Does this Type of intervention look like across the lifespan?

Ages 0–3

This is the window where the true work of developing working memory begins by building the brain. For all kinds of information on the developmental sequence, and neurodevelopment, go to the dsactionplan.com/blog.

The focus should be on:

• Reflex integration
• Sensory processing
• Vestibular-cerebellar input
• Cross-patterning movement
• Attachment and regulation

This foundational work prepares the brain for working memory later in life.

Ages 3–5 (Early Learning Years)

Goal: Establish integration, regulation, and motor coordination as the basis for attention and memory.

1. Daily Heavy Work and Rhythmic Movement
   • Crawling tunnels, weighted bins, bouncing, clapping to a beat
   • Supports proprioception and sequencing
2. Simple Two-Step Directions Paired with Movement
   • “Get your shoes, then sit on the mat.”
   • Strengthens auditory memory and motor planning in tandem
3. Sensory Stories with Breathwork and Visual Cues
   • Narrated short tasks like “blow the wind (breath), walk to the moon (movement), tap your toes (motor cue)”
   • Combines language, memory, and regulation

Ages 5–10 (Early Elementary Years)

Goal: Reinforce cerebellar control and coordination, sensory integration, visual motor integration, and regulation, for brain / body connection (praxis) and interhemispheric communication. This reinforcement supports symbolic working memory (holding information mentally to act on it).

1. Cross-Lateral Games Before Cognitive Tasks
   • Cross crawls, beanbag tosses across midline, bilateral drumming
   • Activates the corpus callosum for better cognitive coordination
2. Visual + Verbal Recall Tasks with Motor Output
   • “Touch the red square, jump two times, then say the animal that lives in water.”
   • Engages body, brain, and language together
3. Regulation Routine Before Learning
   • Box breathing, visualization (e.g., “see your brain growing stronger”), and grounding
   • Calms the nervous system so memory can come online

Ages 11–18 (Middle and High School Years)

Goal: Strengthen procedural learning, emotional regulation, and cognitive flexibility to support working memory under pressure.

1. Motor Sequencing Before Mental Sequencing
   • Short physical movement patterns (e.g., hop-spin-clap) before planning or problem-solving tasks
   • Anchors executive function in motor memory
2. Mind-Body Breaks During Homework
   • Use cerebellar and vestibular inputs (balance board, bouncing, vestibular/cerebellar stimulation activites) between cognitive tasks
   • Re-engages working memory centers
3. Teach “Brain-Body Priming”
   • Help teens understand that their memory improves when they:
     • Move first
     • Regulate their body
     • Visualize the task
   • Empowering them to build a self-directed prep routine

Adulthood (18+)

Goal: Sustain and improve memory by continuing to activate integrated systems, especially under stress, hormone shifts, or aging.

1. Vestibular and Cerebellar Exercise Routines
   • Balance training, eye tracking, gait-based cardio, cerebellar coordination drills
   • Keeps the procedural memory loop engaged and agile
2. Working Memory “Anchor Rituals”
   • Daily habits that tie breath, regulation, and task sequencing
   • Example: breathwork + stretch + review the day’s tasks out loud = memory scaffolding
3. Brain-Body Integration Practices
   • Activities like yoga, tai chi, dance, and rhythmic cardio
   • These integrate the sensory, motor, and emotional systems, sustaining cognitive flexibility and memory under pressure