Memory bookletOccupational therapy

RDaSH leading the way with care

Contents

Introduction 3

What is memory? 3

The memory process 4

Different types of memory 4

Everyday difficulties 5

Memory strategies 6

– External 6

– Internal 9

Further help 10

2 | Memory booklet

Introduction

This booklet is intended to explain

the memory process and will give

practical tips to aid your memory.

It is normal to forget things from

time to time, as no one’s memory

is perfect. Often what stays in our

memory depends on how important

or interesting that information is.

Stroke, head injury, brain infection

or disease can all lead to memory

impairment.

Sometimes the stress of initial

diagnosis e.g. Multiple Sclerosis can

make memory difficulties appear

worse, but as things settle down,

your ability to use your memory will

improve.

What is memory?

Memory is located in more than one

place in the brain and is a complex

process, which involves a number of

skills and stages.

Memory can be illustrated by thinking

of a music system where cassettes

and CDs are recorded and stored

and then retrieved from storage and

replayed when needed.

There are three key stages to

memory: -

1) Information comes into the brain

from any of the five senses i.e.

touch, taste, hearing, sight and

smell. This information goes into

the memory where it is held

for a short time, usually a few

seconds.

2) This information is processed by

the brain and stored in the short

term (working) memory just long

enough to be used. It may be a

few minutes, hours or days.

3) Information from the short

term memory is processed and

transferred into the long term

memory where it can remain for

a lifetime, and be retrieved when

required.

You may have problems with your

memory if any of the above stages

are not functioning properly.

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The memory process

Information Processing System

There are five stages involved:

Attention – information enters the brain. If you cannot concentrate on information it will not be understood and stored.

Encoding – registration of information at the time of learning. Emotional events or things you are interested in are usually more meaningful and therefore processed at a deeper level and become attached to existing memory structures.

Storage – once information is encoded it is stored in the long-term memory e.g. as in a filing system or catalogue.

Consolidation – information is repeated or practised otherwise it will be lost.

Recall – also called retrieval, it involves recalling information, which is stored in the long-term memory.

Difficulties can occur at any of these

five stages.

Different types of memory

Immediate memory (working memory)

The first stage of memory where

information is taken in through the

senses.

Short-term memory

Information is stored here just long

enough to be used.

Long-term memory

Memory for things that have

happened to you in the past. It

is sometimes also called episodic

memory or autobiographical memory

e.g. your first day at work or your

wedding day.

Prospective memory

The ability to remember things for

the future and involves planning.

It is remembering what to do and

when to do it. Prospective memory

can be for routine or novel events

4 | Memory booklet

e.g. remembering appointments or

planning a holiday.

Procedural memory

This is remembering things such as

how to ride a bike, how to switch

on a computer etc. These activities

involve automatic mental or motor

skills, which can be retrieved and

put into action without conscious

awareness.

Everyday difficulties

Some of the most common

difficulties experienced by people

with memory problems are:

• Forgetting what they have been

told

• Forgetting peoples names

• Forgetting where they have put

things

• Getting lost in familiar and

unfamiliar places

• Forgetting a change in routine

• Forgetting to do something

important

• Forgetting whether or not they

have done something

• Forgetting appointments

• Asking the same question

repeatedly

• Repeating the same story over

and over again

• Inability or difficulty learning new

things

• Inability to recall events of the

day before

• Tendency to become confused

more easily

• Difficulty following a television

programme or the plot of a book

• Forgetting to pass on important

messages

• Inability to remember verbal

messages or directions

• Difficulties following a map

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• Inability to remember episodes

from family gatherings or events

from life

• Difficulties remembering people’s

faces and where you’ve met that

person before.

Memory strategies

There isn’t a way to restore lost

memory, but it is possible to learn

how to use strategies to aid your

memory, these can be either external

or internal strategies.

When attempting to improve your

memory use the following ideas to

help you maximise your potential:

• Concentrate on only relevant

information

• Reduce the level of distractions

and noise

• Make associations by linking the

information to something familiar

• Don’t be too critical of yourself

• Use strategies to assist you (see

below).

External strategies

External strategies are alterations

to your environment or routines

that help you to function better by

providing you with prompts. The

following are memory aids which we

all use in daily life:

• Diary

• Shopping lists

• Writing on our hands

• Alarm clock

• Cooker timer

• Memos and lists

• Leaving objects in special places

as reminders

• Asking others to remind you

• Use of memory aids on mobile

phones

• Telecare products.

We have expanded on some of these

to give you some ideas of how to use

them to aid your memory.

6 | Memory booklet

Use of a diary

This needs to be portable and pocket

sized, as it’s of no use if it can’t be

carried wherever you go.

The diary needs to be well structured,

probably a page a day.

The user must make a list of things to

do that day and tick off the activity

when it is achieved.

At the end of the day what is not

ticked off this could be put on the list

for the next day.

Calendars

These can be used to keep track of

appointments; they should be kept

up to date and checked daily. The

appointment information can then be

transferred into a diary if you need to

have it with you.

Pin/notice board

This used together with the post-it

notes or lists can be a successful way

of organising a routine. For example,

jobs/activities which need to be done

can be written on post it notes and

divided into current jobs and jobs

waiting to be done.

Useful daily information or telephone

numbers can be listed on this board

for quick and easy reference.

If you are unable to remember

people’s names or faces, relevant

photographs can be placed on this

board for constant reference.

Timers and watches

These can be set to bleep every half

hour to give you an auditory prompt

to check your diary as a reminder

what you should be doing. Timers are

very useful when cooking.

Medication boxes

Medication can be ordered from the

chemist preset in the correct daily

dose. Alternatively a carer or relative

can set up a medi box. These have

breakfast, lunch, tea and evening

compartments that hold medication

therefore making it easier to

remember whether you’ve taken your

medication.

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Answer machines, dictaphones and pagers

Use of an answer machine reduces

the problem of messages being

forgotten.

A dictaphone can be used

when shopping as it can be pre-

programmed to give you prompts of

all the different shops etc you need to

call at when in town.

Pagers can be used like timers and

can have messages written on them

to remind you of specific things.

Mobile phones

Phones can be used to store

information such as important

phone numbers; it can be used as

a diary, notebook, alarm and mini

dictaphone.

Notes/memos

Write important things to remember

on memos/notes and put them in a

prominent place, e.g. “turn off the

cooker” placed in the kitchen where

you will easily see it as you leave the

room as a reminder.

Organising easily forgotten items

Items such as glasses, keys, purses etc

are easily mislaid. It may be helpful

to have one particular place e.g. a

drawer where you always put these

items saving time from having to

search for them. Another idea is to

label cupboards to remind you where

things are kept.

External strategies work well as visual

and auditory prompts but you need

to practice the skills and be helped to

get into a routine by the people who

support you e.g. your carers, relatives

and therapist.

8 | Memory booklet

Internal strategies

Internal strategies are things that

you ‘do inside your head’ to try and

remember things. For example, trying

to visualise something as a picture.

The following are ideas to help you

develop these internal strategies; you

may need advice and support from

your therapist to help you with this.

Attention

• Focus on and pay attention

to what is being said and try

to reduce the background

distractions

• Look at the person who is

speaking

• Only hold one conversation at a

time.

Chunking/organising into categories

• Organise information into small

amounts; break it down into

chunks or categories rather than

long streams of information

• This can be useful when

remembering numbers e.g.

834564253 can be broken down

into three small chunks 834

564 253 which may be easier

to remember. This is useful with

telephones numbers.

Repeating/rehearsing information

Repeating information over and

over in your head may help you to

remember it.

Make links or associations

Try to make mental associations in

your mind by linking new ideas to

existing information.

Visualisation

Converting words into pictures can

help you remember what is said to

you e.g. if a friend asks you to meet

them outside the chemists at half

past one, you could make a mental

image of your friend standing outside

the chemists with a clock showing

1.30pm.

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5Ws

If you are trying to remember

something such as a magazine article

ask yourself the five W questions.

What? Where? When? Who? and

Why? and break the information

down into those categories.

Stories and rhymes

Rhymes such as Richard Of York

Gave Battle In Vain can help you to

remember the colours of the rainbow

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue,

Indigo, Violet.

First letter cueing

This is helpful for remembering

somebody’s name. Go through the

letters of the alphabet one by one

and when you reach the first letter

of the person’s name, it sometimes

prompts you to remember it.

Further help

The aim of this leaflet was to provide

you with information about memory

problems and to give you ways of

helping yourself to remember.

To work out and use the best

strategies to aid your memory you

may require the help and support

from your therapist, carer or relative.

Your carers and relatives can help by

being aware of how you remember

things and by encouraging you to use

the strategies you have developed

with your therapist.

10 | Memory booklet

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This information is correct at the time of publishing Last Reviewed: April 2013

geta p p r o v e d

DP4578/01.18

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