This study examined the recall of televised stories for younger (4-6 years) and older (7-9 years) children with and without ADHD under two different viewing conditions (toys present/toys absent). Each child watched two Rugrats television programs, once with toys present and once with toys absent. Immediately after viewing a program, the child completed a free recall of the observed story. Nonreferred childrens recall increased more than ADHD childrens as importance level increased, and older nonreferred children recalled more information overall than older children with ADHD. For the toys condition, children with ADHD had smaller correlations between the story units recalled and the order of these units in the story than did nonreferred children. Children with ADHD demonstrated multiple difficulties in story comprehension. They were less sensitive to thematic importance and they produced less coherent recalls than their nonreferred peers.

Three questions were investigated in the current study. First, do children with ADHD have language deficiencies in comparison to non-referred peers? Second, are there diagnostic group differences in parent and child storytelling when interacting in a joint picture-book setting or in parent reported home literacy habits? Third, are these differences related to child language scores? Parents of 25 children with ADHD and 39 comparison children, average age 7 years 6 months, told their children a story based on a wordless picture-book, and children then retold the story to an examiner without using the book. In addition, children made up two of their own stories and completed a standardized test of receptive and expressive language abilities. Children with ADHD demonstrated an expressive language deficiency compared to the non-referred children, but there was no group difference in receptive language scores. Parents of children in both groups told stories of similar length and complexity, as well as affective and responsive quality. However, for the ADHD group but not the comparison group, more positive and responsive parents told stories on a lower grade level. The length of the childs retell of the parents story did not differ across groups but children with ADHD told shorter stories when asked to make up their own stories without the external structure or salience of visual cues. Further, there were no significant group differences in the relations between parent storytelling and child language scores. The implications of these findings for understanding parent and child storytelling and language abilities of children with ADHD are discussed.

Children with ADHD perform more poorly in school than comparison children. Although many factors may play a role in this academic deficit, story comprehension deficits have been identified that reveal difficulties with higher cognitive processes. This study investigated how effectively children with ADHD formulate story representations when given little or no story structure. The production of goal-based stories was the major focus. Children with ADHD and comparison children created a story when no story structure was provided (free story) and when some story structure was provided (4-picture story). The stories were measured for coherence, use of goal-attempt-outcome (GAO) sequences and goal-based story grammar categories. Children with ADHD had difficulty structuring a story and utilizing a goal plan in both story tasks. The provision of story structure reduced some group differences. These results supplement evidence of problems among children with ADHD in using goal plans to formulate story representations.

Academic difficulties are well-documented among children with ADHD. Exploring these difficulties through story comprehension research has revealed deficits among children with ADHD in making causal connections between events, and using causal structure and thematic importance when recalling stories. Important to theories of story comprehension and implied in these deficits is the ability to make inferences. Often, characters’ goals are implicit and explanations of events must be inferred. The purpose of the present study was to compare the ability of 7- to 11-year-old children with ADHD and their comparison peers to make inferences during story comprehension. Children watched two televised stories, each paused at five points. In the experimental condition, at each pause children told what they were thinking about the story, whereas in the control condition no responses were made during pauses. After viewing, children recalled the story. Several types of inferences and accuracy of inferences were coded. Children with ADHD generated fewer of the most essential inferences, accurate coherence inferences, than did comparison children, both during story processing and during story recall. The groups did not differ on production of other types of inferences. Generating fewer coherence inferences has important implications for story comprehension deficits in children with ADHD.

The current study examined the efficacy of various neuropsychological measures for differentiating ADHD and comorbid ADHD from malingered ADHD in a large state university sample. The sample consisted of 23 nonclinical individuals assigned to malinger ADHD (NLM), 9 nonclinical individuals responding honestly (NLH), 22 individuals with diagnoses of ADHD only (ADHD-H), 9 individuals with comorbid ADHD/Learning Disorder presentations (ADHD-LD), and 13 individuals with comorbid ADHD/Anxiety presentations (ADHD-ANX). Due to limited sample sizes, the ADHD-LD and ADHD-ANX participants were pooled to create a comorbid ADHD group (ADHD-CO n = 22). The study utilized a simulation design with a NLM group instructed to feign ADHD while the other groups responded under standard instructions. The TOMM, LMT, NV-MSVT, and CTIP variables performed well, but the DMT did not. The WAIS-IV and WJ-III variables did not adequately differentiate malingered and comorbid ADHD.

A dramatic upsurge in the number of students with learning disabilities (LD) who attended college has occurred since the 1970s. The granting of accommodations to students with LD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or both was important for their success in postsecondary education. Key to the provision of these services was the attitude of faculty towards granting the accommodations. This study examined the attitudes of faculty members at community colleges which had specialized programs for students with LD or ADHD towards granting these accommodations. These attitudes were assessed through a questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed three attitudes: willingness to make accommodation confidence that the accommodations will make a difference, and belief that accommodations would threaten the integrity of the course. The questionnaire also divided accommodations into two large groups: instruction accommodations and evaluation and material accommodations. This study also included a qualitative component in that the questionnaire included some open-ended questions and some respondents were interviewed. A total of 1100 questionnaires was sent to faculty throughout selected Illinois and Indiana community colleges of which 285 questionnaires made up the sample population. Sample population consisted of 54% male and 46% female; 51% held the rank of instructor or adjunct professor while 49% held professorial rank; tenured status consisted of 68% and nontenured (32%) while 54% were full-time and 46% part-time faculty. The collapsed years of teaching experience comprised 46% with five years or less, 27% with six to 15 years, and 27% with more than 16 years. A majority of faculty members had previous experience with students with LD (86%) and ADHD (71%), and a majority of the respondents (71%) had a family member or knew an individual with LD. Results of the questionnaire were combined to generate two factors scores: instructional accommodations and evaluation and material accommodations. These scores were analyzed using means and standard deviations or the factor scores. Aside from overall means, individual differences among faculty members were analyzed using two-way and one-way ANOVAs with alpha set at .05. The overall means suggested that the faculty: were willing to make accommodations, had confidence that the accommodations would make a difference, and did not believe that the accommodations would threaten the integrity of the class. Individual differences were found for gender, tenure status, and training. Females were found to accommodate better than males. Subjects with additional training accommodated more positively than those without training. The current findings were interpreted within the framework of how these community colleges could improve faculty attitudes. Institutions should make LD training a main concern in order for faculty to accommodate. / Department of Special Education

The purpose of this study was to explore the relative importance of cognitive and neuropsychological measures in the diagnosis of Attentional disorders. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Halstead Reitan Test Battery for Children (HNTB-C) were examined to assess their independent and shared contribution to the prediction of variance of Factor I (Undiscipline/Poor Self Control) of the Personality Inventory for Children.Subjects for this study were 100 9 to 14 year old boys and girls referred to an outpatient psychological assessment clinic. Question 1 examined the ability of the Freedom from Distractibility factor (FD) and the individual scales of the WISC-R to predict variability in the PIC Factor I. Results showed that the FD factor did not predict any variance in Factor I, however, the individual scales of the WISC-R accounted for 14% of variance in Factor I of the PIC. Question 2 examined the variability accounted for by selected tests of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Children (HNTB-C) beyond that provided by the WISC-R. It was found that the HNTB-C accounted for 10% of the variability of Factor I of the PIC beyond that found with the FD scale or the individual scales of the WISC-R. The tests of the HNTB-C when examined without the WISC-R accounted for 17% of the variability in the PIC Factor I. Implications for use of neuropsychological measures in assessment of attentional disorders and lack of reliability of traditional cognitive measures were discussed. / Department of Educational Psychology

Based on phenomenology, traditional methods of diagnoses of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder-combined type (ADHD/C) and reading disorder (RD) are neither precise, nor do they provide explicit information relevant to intervention. Consequently, current researchers have called for diagnostic techniques based on etiological rather than traditional symptom-based markers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not WJ III cognitive profiles of individual students provided meaningful diagnostic evidence of ADHD/C and/or RD congruent with prominent theories and group scores from quantitative studies. Six holistic student cases were examined. Two were prequalified with ADHD/C, two with RD, and two with ADHD/C+RD using traditional symptom-based diagnosis. Data were drawn from archived psychoeducational evaluation case files including background information, psychosocial evaluations, and WJ III cognitive profiles. Contextual mediators such as testing room conditions, behavioral observations, and developmental histories were examined that might influence the interpretation of cognitive profiles within the school setting.Among the four students prequalified with RD, three students displayed the requisite cognitive profile of weaknesses on clusters of Phonemic Awareness-3 and/or Cognitive Fluency. A review of distinctive contexts in the fourth student's case as well as the absence of the expected RD cognitive profile supported the determination that his reading problems were secondary to ADHD/C. These findings produced theoretical as well as literal replications of the double-deficit theory of RD. Results were less clear among the four students prequalified with ADHD/C due to varying performances on tests of Broad Attention and Executive Processes--cognitive factors documented by the behavioral inhibition theory of ADHD/C. As expected, students prequalified with ADHD/C+RD displayed a wider range of deficits, presumably due to the additive effect of having two disorders. The mediating influence of idiosyncratic contexts underscored the importance of professional judgment in cognitive profile interpretation.Although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between academic performance deficits associated with ADHD/C and skills deficits associated with RD, it was shown that cognitive profiles in concert with a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation can, in some cases, provide etiological evidence for differential diagnosis and a guide for intervention. More practice-based research within ecologically valid environments is recommended. / Department of Educational Psychology

Previous research has identified motor deficits within the ADHD population, and indicates that these individuals are at an increased risk for difficulties relating to their motor development. The present study, which utilized discriminant function analysis, was unable to document areas of motor impairment for individuals diagnosed with ADHD. Specifically, no evidence of motor impairment was identified on tasks of motor coordination, fine motor dexterity, motor speed and grip strength, which measures the integrity of the motor system at the basic output level. Interestingly, results identified that individuals with ADHD were more proficient in their motor abilities than the normative population. Two mitigating factors were controlled for in this study and were found to impact performance on motor tasks. First, higher level thinking skills such as verbal comprehension, attention control, cognitive sequencing, working memory and executive functions appear to be more responsible for documented performance deficits than an underlying motor deficit. Secondly, the high prevalence of comorbid psychiatric and medical disorders, inherent to the ADHD population, appears to negatively impact performance on motor tasks. In general, individuals with only a diagnosis of ADHD consistently outperformed individuals who had been diagnosed with ADHD and comorbid disorders.This study also examined the sensory and subcortical abilities of individuals with ADHD. Results indicate that these children are similar to their same age peers in their visual perception, visual acuity, auditory discrimination and tactile perception. Finally, this study was unable to identify evidence of impairment in the subcortical abilities of ADHD individuals. In fact, individuals with only a diagnosis of ADHD outperformed the control group across a majority of tasks assessing subcortical abilities. Comorbidity also appears to negatively impact performance on sensory and subcortical tasks, especially for individuals with comorbid medical conditions. Overall, results from this study impact the field of research which previously identified motor performance deficits in the ADHD population. Further research is needed to examine the sensory and motor abilities of ADHD individuals to understand the performance abilities of individuals with ADHD. / Department of Educational Psychology

A quantitave study was done on children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders in primary schools. The main aim was to measure IQ and to find out if there are indicators of organicity. The hypotheses of the study were as follows: (i) Children diagnosed with ADHD will obtain lower scores on IQ tests than children not diagnosed with ADHD; (ii) Children diagnosed with ADHD have some form of neurological deficit or organicity The study consisted of a sample 25 children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders and the children who were never diagnosed with the disorder. The sample and the control group range from the age of six ( 6) to 13 years. Data was collected using Bendor Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Senior South African Individual Scale Revised. Descriptive Statistics, Chi-square Test and Mann-Whitney Test were used to determine the difference between the sample and the control group. The results indicated that there is significant difference between children with ADHD and the control group on both verbal and non-verbal IQ tests. This means that children who were diagnosed with ADHD scored lower on measures "of IQ. The differences may have been due to IQ. or the ADHD group was distracted enough to perform significantly worse on reading, spelling, mathematics, comprehension and written tasks. The results on the Chi-square indicated that there is a relationship between the presence and ADHD and organicity. The findings in this study will aid teachers and parents (especially in African communities), to find out more about the children who they think are just problematic children. ii A quantitative study was done on children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders in primary schools. The main aim was to measure IQ and to find out if there are indicators of organicity. The hypotheses of the study were as follows: (i) Children diagnosed with ADHD will obtain lower scores on IQ tests than children not diagnosed with ADHD; (ii) Children diagnosed with ADHD have some form of neurological deficit or organicity The study consisted of a sample 25 children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders and the children who were never diagnosed with the disorder. The sample and the control group range from the age of six ( 6) to 13 years. Data was collected using Bendor Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Senior South African Individual Scale Revised. Descriptive Statistics, Chi-square Test and Mann-Whitney Test were used to determine the difference between the sample and the control group. The results indicated that there is significant difference between children with ADHD and the control group on both verbal and non-verbal IQ tests. This means that children who were diagnosed with ADHD scored lower on measures "of IQ. The differences may have been due to IQ. or the ADHD group was distracted enough to perform significantly worse on reading, spelling, mathematics, comprehension and written tasks. The results on the Chi-square indicated that there is a relationship between the presence and ADHD and organicity. The findings in this study will aid teachers and parents (especially in African communities), to find out more about the children who they think are just problematic children. / M.Soc.Sc. (Clinical Psychology) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006