Here are some ideas worth trying to see if you can improve your memory. I recently read Use Your Memory by Tony Buzan. While this book is not written for or by someone with a neurodiversity some of his points are worth mentioning and they can be helpful for dyslexics and people with ADHD.
The core of his belief about having a good memory and improving your memory is around mnemonics (there’s a word a dyslexic did not design).
Mnemonics refer to any technique designed to help you remember things. Mnemonics can be very useful and effective tools to recall all kinds of information, including lists and sequences of events.”
The secret lies in the fact that this technique activates both the left and the right cortex of the brain, thus unlocking your memory’s full potential.
Whereas your left brain helps you remember things through logic, words, sequencing, numbering and lists, your right brain operates through creative associations. These associations can be created using rhythm, color, dimensions, daydreaming, spatial awareness and Gestalt (the whole picture).
By stimulating both sides of the brain when trying to store information in your memory banks, you’ll not only improve your ability to recall information, you’ll boost your creative potential as well.
If you are dyslexic, you are already doing this when you are trying to remember things. This is how you actually get things into your memory; you just might not have known the name for it.
- Synesthesia, or the blending of the senses. In developing better memory, it’s important to sensitize and regularly train all your senses, including vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch and kinaesthesia (your awareness of position and movement in space).”
Imagery – doing a full visualization of the process and include the sounds and smells associated with the thing you are imagining.
Movement – what types of movement are associated with what you are doing or have done.
Positive Image– your brain likes to remember good things. So, think about the best parts of what you are doing.
Exaggerate – Increase the entertainment of the imagery. Make it funny and bigger than it really is.
As I am sharing this with you, it sounds to me like so many of the young people I have known with ADHD. What if parents and schools realized this was a good thing and figured out how to harness it. Maybe that is why some people with ADHD have very good memories.
- Link System – linking a short list of items. You create a connected story of the items on a list, so you are better able to remember the story.
I have been practicing this to expand my list skills. I am up to six items at once. It is kind of fun. I recently had a list for the store, and it went like this.
– I start the day with eggs and potatoes.
– The potatoes are white and so is cauliflower.
– The cauliflower makes bad yogurt and goats make good milk.
– Next to the milk is cheese.
It’s not the best example, I am still working on my skills. The goal is that the story is using all of your senses, so you have a better way to retrieve the memory.
- Peg Memory System – Number shape system and number rhyme system. I’m not going to go into this, because as a dyslexic, it really didn’t work well for me or any clients I have had try it. Check it out yourself and see what you think.
- Roman Room – you create an imaginary room filled with the things you are trying to remember and associate them with the items that make up the room.
- Mind Maps – good for remembering your notes. This engages the left and right side of your brain. You need imagination and association. This is like a MetaCog. This works really well for many of my clients once they start to use it to take notes and add drawings.
I hope this gives you some ideas on things to try to improve your memory.
Pick one to start and give it a try. If you know a young person with a neurodiversity like ADHD or dyslexia, please share some of this with them and let them know how above average their brain really is.
Keep up the exploration of life,
JoyGenea Schumer
Business Owner, International Neurodiversity Coach, and Speaker