Processing speed was targeted with a variety of exercises that focused on auditory inputs and verbal outputs to accommodate for Maura’s motor weaknesses stemming from her cerebral palsy diagnosis. After completing a long-term memory exercise, Maura would then be prompted to perform the task again, this time faster than before. These learning trials also planted the seed for targeting self-monitoring and time management, which Maura struggled with significantly.

Once a measure of progress was made regarding processing speed, the next step involved targeting self-monitoring, initiation, and time management. One of Maura’s struggles, for example, was the inability to judge when she had learned something versus being merely being familiar with it. As a result, she would typically study ineffectively and perform poorly on tests. After receiving test scores, Maura did not properly evaluate the reason for her poor score and rather internalized that she simply forgot what she had learned.

Regarding time management, Maura struggled greatly with identifying how long tasks should take her and how to plan accordingly. Maura would repeatedly plan only one hour, for example, for a task that routinely takes her several hours and could not properly identify where her time had gone. Several strategies were introduced to Maura, beginning with time logs. This taught Maura where her time was going and how to plan properly. Using this method, Maura was able to make a “time guess” before activities and follow up with a “time check” after completing the activity. Maura could then look at her entire day or project and identify how to better manage her time next time.

While much of Maura’s struggle with long-term memory was in fact rooted in her poor self-monitoring and time management, she did also struggle with core principles of long-term memory. For example, Maura could not visualize or make connections between something known and new information in order to learn it. By applying several techniques and strategies, Maura improved her ability to do both of these things and by the end of her program was able to study for her exams independently.