Working Memory, is the ability to hold information in mind while performing complex tasks. It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning her experience to apply to the situation at hand or to project into the future.
Working Memory is one of the first executive functions skills to emerge during infancy, usually around 5 to 6 months of age. We receive information from the outside world through our five senses. This information then goes into the sensory registers in our brain. Most of the information that we take in we are not even consciously aware of. The information that gets our interest or that we choose to focus on then moves into our working memory (loud noises, bright colors).
When a person has difficulties with working memory, it may present in some of the following ways:
difficulty remembering instructions that were just given
forgetting to write down assignments
difficulty remembering multi-step direction
hard time remembering what was just read
forgetting to turn in homework
inconsistent performance
anxiety during assessments
difficulty remembering new information