Memory Loss and Language Acquisition

[evalangui]

I wondered if anybody has experienced something like this: My sister, who's currently 17, has been living in England for a year, immersing herself in English with very little contact with her native Spanish outside the home/skyping/the odd friend. She's now doing As Levels (advanced secondary school for non UKers), which are pretty challenging for

Comments

[silberstreif]

Truthfully, this sounds more like an early warning sign to some serious condition. If possible, you should convince her to get a scan or at least go to the doctor ASAP. She is young, but that does not mean it can not be signs of a stroke or tumor or something else.

Edit: I asked a friend who studies medicine. In her opinion learning should not cause memory loss of the kind you are describing. Best case - she has neglected herself and needs more rest. Worst case - brain tumor. She thinks your sister should really visit a doctor asap.

[sidheag]

Came to say the same thing - she should go to a doctor. Could be a lot of things, but some of them are serious.

[evalangui]

I'll get her an appointment. Although now that I think about it, I think she hasn't been getting enough sleep and that can probably cause memory loss. Definitely better safe than sorry, though. Thanks for your comments!

[pjlover666]

Sometimes when I'm exhausted and write something, I can happen to forget it as well. But then again, there's always even a little bit of memory of having written something. There are so many questions that need to be asked and answered before something could be even assumed. The first one (and it will seem a stupid one), but has your sister been drunk then? Or under the influence of other medications (sleeping pills and such).
If that answer is a negative, then the other questions should be:
When exactly did this occur? Is this a first time thing? (and if not, how often?) Has she experienced head-aches, dizziness, vision problem - any other symptom she can think of? Has she been sick recently? Has she experienced a trauma (hitting her head, falling) Is she on any medications? Does she have a medical condition? What kind of memory loss exactly, it needs to be more thoroughly described - a blank spot in her memory, or she simply doesn't remember writing that... and many more questions. Like I said, there's just so little info to even

[evalangui]

She wrote it during class, I believe, and then opened the book to complete the assignment and when she found it she could not remember writing it or where she got the question from. She rarely drinks and it's not on any meds (no head trauma either), so I'm thinking it has to be that she's not sleeping enough (she's staying up to study). I will ask her about the headaches, etc.

Although, as you say, I would rather she got checked out anyway, even if it takes three months to get her an appointment with an specialist.

Thanks :)

[dichroic]

I think you're probably right, and it is most likely lack of sleep. So I'm joining the "see a doctor just in case" chorus, but with a caveat not to panic in the meantime (not that it sounds like you are) because there is an ordinary and non-lethal probable cause.

[amorettea]

I would say "how much sleep is she getting?" Sleep deprivation can do weird things and when you are young, you can convince yourself you don't need it. We spend our youth avoiding naps and our "golden years" seeking them.

[evalangui]

Think this might be it, actually. She's been getting to bed later than me and I only get 7 hours a night (and then take naps when I get back from work, probably getting to the "Golden Years" now XD). I know being seriously sleep deprived will make the mind drift like crazy so... I will ask her and try to get her to *remedy* that first while we wait for a doc.

[ebzenka]

Well, it happened to me recently several times, when I was in a long-time stress without enough sleep. I wanted to do some more work before going to bed, and the moment of sitting before my laptop and hitting the off button is the last I can remember. After that I woke in my bed, in my pyjama, not remembering how I got there, and I found out that I really DID the work I wanted to (I finished some writing, cleaned the dishes, did other chores that was needed, and so on), but the memory of doing it totally slipped my mind

[evalangui]

I'm reading her your comment later! Thanks!

Maybe I can also convince her that there's no point in studying a lot if she's not getting enough sleep to do it. She's under a lot of pressure (from herself) to do well in school and I think she might not be handling it as well as I thought. She lives with me but I'm very independent and I encourage her to try on her own as well. Plus, I can't handle reading over all her homework after teaching all day, tbh :p

Thanks again, hope *you* are getting some well deserved rest now :)

[whswhs]

What I associate with that kind of memory loss is either work done when short on sleep, or work done in a condition of severe anxiety. I've seen a friend study while anxious and have her memory just erase afterward. Would either of those apply?

[evalangui]

Both, I'd say. She gets really anxious about her tests AND stays up late studying. The writing she forgot doing was during class but since she's been sitting texts and stress doesn't just go away immediately... I'll tell her about the sleep thing, I guessed about the stressed thing myself but I feel better with other testimonials so thanks :)