Courage Center Handiham System

Dear Elmer,

Our VE team and radio club have been trying to help a candidate with short-term memory loss. What can be done to help him succeed? It is hard for him to remember what he has studied.

Signed,
Concerned VE

Dear VE,

One of the most frustrating problems in the world of disabilities is short-term memory loss. Sometimes this will come as a result of a head injury or a stroke. We have had a number of Handiham members with short-term memory loss who have been successful passing the Technician level license examination, but none of them had an easy time of it. You are really limited in what you can do at a VE session to accommodate a disability like this in a reasonable manner, especially if the VE team is short of members and you have limited time to deal with a large number of applicants. That said, a VE team can decide that a reasonable accommodation would be to provide the examinee with a volunteer reader who would preferably be a VE. This volunteer would sit with the examinee and systematically read each question and all four of the possible answers to the examinee. The examinee then specifies which answer to be marked down, and the volunteer marks the answer sheet. In this way, you are simplifying the process for someone who has the knowledge to answer the questions correctly but who may be getting bogged down in the process of reading the questions and marking the correct answer. It is as if you were cutting down on the number of processes running in a computer so that the primary process (answering the question correctly) can take priority. Care must be taken to avoid cuing the examinee as to the correct answer - you have to have a poker face - and voice! If the candidate seems to have no trouble with reading & understanding, then no accommodation need be given.

However, accommodation is only one part of the picture. Usually it is difficult for these candidates to study and retain the material in the first place. A multifaceted approach to learning will include the following:

1. Repetition. I'm sure this is a no-brainer, but repeating and repeating and repeating is probably going to be necessary because retention is so much weaker in these candidates.

2. Presenting the material in different ways. Your candidate may be able to take in information visually and aurally. In other words, something like the Gordon West technician compact disc audio class may work to complement learning from the ARRL License Manual or from a PowerPoint presentation.

The idea is to offer the same material through different senses -- seeing and hearing -- so that they complement and reinforce the learning process.

3. Patience. Candidates with short-term memory loss can take a very long time on the road to success. Repetition and practice examinations on the Internet are good ways to keep the learning process under way every day. These are not candidates who will be able to be successful after a single day cram session. It may take them many weeks or months, but it is possible in many cases for the candidate to achieve success with the Technician exam.

It may very well be that at the Technician level, a person with short-term memory loss can have a very rich, rewarding ham radio experience and be a valued part of the amateur radio community in your area. I think it is certainly worth pursuing, and I applaud your efforts on behalf of of people with disabilities. Good luck with your examinee and we all hope to hear him on the air soon!

73 - Elmer