12/25/2025
The scratch-pad reference really sums up Working Memory.
How that scratch-pad exists within our world is defined by our particular divergence.
I always fear being taken advantage of when I cant surface points on the spot.
Understanding the pitfalls, though, has helped a ton with the negative self-talk side of it.
The more you know! Or whatever.. 🙃
Working Memory Wednesday
Working memory is your brain’s “scratchpad” — the short-term space you use to hold and manipulate information *right now*
like remembering a phone number long enough to dial it, or
keeping the next 2–3 steps of a task in mind
It’s limited, it decays fast, and it gets eaten up by distractions, stress, and multitasking.
Working memory isn’t “memory” like storage — it’s attention + executive control + inhibition + updating happening in real time. A lot of ND profiles put stress on those moving parts:
Attention regulation issues (common in ADHD): info falls off the mental “scratchpad” because the spotlight keeps sliding.
Inhibition / filtering issues: irrelevant inputs get in (sounds, thoughts, notifications), so the scratchpad fills with junk and drops the task.
Task switching costs: each switch flushes the buffer. ND brains often switch more (internally or externally).
Sensory/interoceptive load (common in autism, AuDHD): if your system is processing a lot of sensation/body signals, that’s less bandwidth for holding steps/threads.
Processing speed / language load (common in dyslexia, some LDs): the scratchpad “expires” before you can fully manipulate the info.
Stress / sleep / anxiety sensitivity: working memory is one of the first things to degrade under strain, and many ND folks live with more baseline strain.