What is Cognitive Overload?

4 common reasons why your child’s brain becomes overwhelmed and how you can support them

Is your child struggling to complete homework, remain organized, or stay focused? Does this lead to increased frustration, avoidance, and parent/child conflict? Working memory is an aspect of our intellectual functioning and we need it to attend and respond to instructions, organize and recall our thoughts, and work with multiple bits of information at once. Think of working memory as our brain’s “sketch pad.” It is the place where we organize and work through tasks.  Working memory is part of our executive functioning, which is the brain’s “control center.” Executive functioning develops over time and helps us juggle tasks, complete mental operations, and regulate our thoughts/behavior during tasks, especially non-desired tasks (cue homework!).

Cognitive overload happens when our working memory is in overdrive and unable to cope. Essentially, the typical “cognitive load” that our brain can handle at one time, has reached it’s max. Every child is different, even within families . Thus, understanding your child’s capacity and working memory strengths can be helpful. Cognitive overload can happen when your child is given too much information at once, asked to juggle or organize too many simultaneous tasks, or when one task/feeling is taking up more space than usual. Ever had a clogged drain, sat in traffic, or endured the frustration of slow Wifi? Cognitive overload is just like this. The brain is unable to think, organize, or behave accordingly—so the emotional brain takes charge. Therefore, changes or strategies must be implemented to help reduce the cognitive load and activate the thinking part of the brain.

Here are a few common triggers for cognitive overload and specific strategies to help your child/teen get back on track:

• Trigger: The task your child is asked to complete is too challenging or beyond their developmental level.

  • Strategy: Break down the task into smaller, manageable chunks.

• Trigger: The task will take longer than usual or has a distant deadline.

  • Strategy: Break the task down into shorter deadlines that will contribute to completion by the longer deadline.

• Trigger: Too much information is being presented to your child at one time (spoken or written).

  • Strategy: Help your child prioritize important information in a visual or spoken format. Consider prioritizing importance by nearest due dates, difficulty level, or relevance.

• Trigger: There are too many choices presented to your child at one time.

  • Strategy: Help your child visualize a clear path based on their interests or strengths.

Psychoeducational or Neurodevelopmental Testing can help you identify your child’s cognitive and academic strengths. By better understanding your child’s strengths and weaknesses, you can have a tailored plan to support their working memory and other areas of functioning!

Looking for more information or wanting to schedule? Contact Dr. Bobal today!