To constantly add to our understanding of child development, a valid, comprehensive, well-researched measure is needed. The recent revision and standardisation of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales - Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) has necessitated investigations into its psychometric properties. This measure is used to identify developmental delays in children and critical decisions may be made, hence it is imperative that this measure be deemed both reliable and valid. This study aimed to contribute to the broader restandardisation project and focussed on gathering qualitative and quantitative construct-related validity evidence for one of the six Subscales of the GMDS-ER, namely the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale (Subscale D). An exploratory descriptive method using a triangulation approach was used to explore the construct-related validity evidence of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. A non-random purposively selected sample of 6 experts, who had worked at least 10 years with children assessing and evaluating the domain of eye-hand coordination, participated in a facet analysis to identify the underlying dimensions tapped by the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. The sample for the quantitative aspects of this study, the empirical validation of the construct model, was collected as part of the broader restandardisation and represented a stratified sample of 1026 children between the ages 24 months and 96 months from across the United Kingdom and Eire. Three measures, namely a biographical questionnaire, the GMDS-ER and a construct evaluation form were used to gather the qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data was analysed by means of a facet analysis and literature control which included examining other tests or subtests that tapped eye-hand coordination skills. The quantitative data was analysed by means of exploratory common factor analysis using oblique (DQUART) rotation in order to verify the qualitatively identified construct model by specifying a one-factor solution for each underlying construct. While literature suggests that eye-hand coordination is multidimensional in nature the facet analysis revealed that the tasks tapped by Subscale D were not tapping complex skills aside from eye-hand coordination. The facet analysis thus revealed that all the items tap the eye-hand coordination of fine motor tasks and that these items could be grouped into two categories, using writing utensils and object manipulation. The results from the factor analysis confirmed that the items on Subscale D have one underlying construct and further exploration confirmed that these items could in fact be grouped into two categories. The coefficients of congruence for SES and gender were satisfactory and thus the construct model was validated across these groups as well. The study has provided extensive qualitative and quantitative evidence for the construct-related validity of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale of the GMDS-ER, thus validating its use as a sound measure of eye-hand coordination development in children aged 2 to 8 years. The content coverage however, seemed to indicate that the tasks required do not adequately cover all the facets of eye-hand coordination and some of these item types are tapped by the other Subscales in the measure. Hence, should the Subscale be used as an independent assessment of eye-hand coordination, the eye-hand coordination development of the child would have a narrow focus. In addition, in reviewing the variety of tasks in the two sections for the older and younger child, the researcher noted that while section III tapped a variety of skills, section IV only focused on skills associated with drawing, copying and writing. A review of the age appropriateness of the items and the item analysis results from the revision seemed to indicate that some of the items assessing the older child may need to be revised. Further, the researcher suggested that the revision should consider adding additional dimensions to the tasks assessed. Overall, it is the researcher‟s opinion that this Subscale was not given adequate attention during the revision process and should future revisions occur, the recommendations from this study should be considered.

Although it is generally acknowledged that critical career-related concepts and attitudes are first formed in childhood, research has focused little attention on this developmental stage. Statements about children‘s career development as an integral dimension of human development date to the early 1950s, yet limited research has investigated this interrelationship. It is imperative to gain a greater understanding of childhood career development in order to better prepare children for their future. The overall purpose of this study is to explore the interrelationship of childhood development and childhood career development. An exploratory-descriptive quantitative research method was used. Thirty participants (all eight year-old girls from a middle class, English speaking background) were selected through non-probability purposive sampling. Data were gathered from the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) and the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated a correlation, although not statistically significant, between childhood development and childhood career development, thus indicating a weak positive correlation between the two variables. Statistically significant relationships were established between certain subscales of the GMDS-ER and CCDS, namely Language and Exploration, Eye-Hand Co-ordination and Key Figures, and Practical Reasoning and Planning. The results from this study, although not conclusive, are groundbreaking in this neglected area of research as they indicate an interrelationship between childhood development and childhood career development. This research is an initial step in investigating this interrelationship and it is the hope of the researcher that it will stimulate further research in this area.

It has long been the quest of developmental theorists to understand the mechanisms behind cognitive functioning and the acquisition of language. Studies have identified that there is an interdependent, dialectical relationship between cognitive development and language acquisition. The development of language, in typical populations, is therefore dependent on a baseline cognitive skill, which, once acquired, capacitates the further development of cognition. However, very little is known about this process within atypical populations, particularly those with speech and language impairment. This study examined the relationship between cognitive functioning and early predictive factors in an atypical population of pre-school children with speech and language impairment using three measures of cognitive functioning (as measured by the WPPSI (Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Intelligence Scale), the Griffiths and the JSAIS (Junior South African Individual Scale)) and a range of demographic, diagnostic and early developmental childhood factors. Results identify factors such as parental levels of education, family structure, gender and pregnancy and early childhood health as the main influences of cognitive performance. They also highlight the pervasive influence of speech and language impairment on non-verbal and processing speed abilities. The presence of genetic conditions as well as multiple diagnoses was frequently found to have significant associations with poor cognitive performance. The study also highlighted two things of unexpected interest. The first refers to the role of handedness (particularly undifferentiated handedness) in identifying cognitive difficulty which is related to hemispheric lateralisation, and its relationship to the various diagnostic groups represented within the sample. The second considers the high proportion of diagnostic co-morbidity and the common cognitive profiling patterns across diagnostic categories in abilities outside of the verbal range to highlight potential directions for future research. The implications of these overlaps are considered within existing research on brain laterality, hemispheric dominance and neurological immaturity.

Das Ziel dieser Dissertation ist die Erforschung einer gewissen Invariante von Singularitäten über einem Grundkörper k von positiver Charakteristik. Sei x \in X ein singulärer Punkt auf einem k-Schema. Dann ist die lokale rigide Kohomologie im Grad i definiert als H^i_{rig, {x}}(X), also als die rigide Kohomologie von X mit Träger in der Teilmenge {x}. In Kapitel 2 zeigen wir, dass die lokale rigide Kohomologie tatsächlich eine Invariante ist. Das heißt: Sind x'' \in X'' und x \in X kontaktäquivalente singuläre Punkte auf k-Schemata, dann sind die Vektorräume H_{rig, {x}}(X) und H_{rig, {x''}}(X'') zueinander isomorph. Dieser Isomorphismus ist kompatibel mit der Wirkung des Frobenius auf der rigiden Kohomologie. In den Kapiteln 3 und 4 beschäftigen wir uns mit gewichtet homogenen Singularitäten von Hyperflächen. Der Hauptsatz des dritten Kapitels besagt, dass die lokale rigide Kohomologie einer solchen Singularität isomorph ist zu dem G-invarianten Teil von H_{rig}(\Proj^{n-1}_k \setminus \widetilde{S}_{\infty}). Hier bezeichnet \widetilde{S}_{\infty} \subset \Proj^{n-1}_k eine gewisse glatte projektive Hyperfläche und G ist eine endliche Gruppe, die auf der rigiden Kohomologie des Komplements wirkt. Dank einem Algorithmus von Abbott, Kedlaya und Roe ist es möglich, den Frobenius-Automorphismus auf H_{rig}(\Proj^{n-1}_k \setminus \widetilde{S}_{\infty}) annähernd zu berechnen. In Kapitel 4 formulieren wir eine Anpassung dieses Algorithmus, mithilfe derer Berechnungen auf dem G-invarianten Teil gemacht werden können. Der angepasste Algorithmus kann vollständig mithilfe gewichtet homogener Polynome formuliert werden, was für unsere Anwendungen sehr natürlich scheint. In Kapitel 5 formulieren wir einige Vermutungen und offene Probleme, die mit den Ergebnissen der früheren Kapitel zusammenhängen. / The goal of this thesis is to study a certain invariant of isolated singularities over a base field k of positive characteristic. This invariant is called the local rigid cohomology. For a singular point x \in X on a k-scheme, the i-th local rigid cohomology is defined as H^i_{rig, {x}}(X), the i-th rigid cohomology of X with supports in the subset {x}. In chapter 2 we show that the local rigid cohomology is indeed an invariant. That is: if x'' \in X'' and x \in X are contact-equivalent singularities on k-schemes, then the local rigid cohomology spaces H_{rig, {x}}(X) and H_{rig, {x''}}(X'') are isomorphic. The isomorphism that we construct is moreover compatible with the Frobenius action on rigid cohomology. In chapters 3 and 4 we focus our attention on weighted homogeneous hypersurface singularities. Our goal in chapter 3 is to show that for such a singularity, the local rigid cohomology may be identified with the G-invariants of a certain rigid cohomology space $H_{rig}(\Proj^{n-1}_k \setminus \widetilde{S}_{\infty}). Here \widetilde{S}_{\infty} \subset \Proj^{n-1}_k is a smooth projective hypersurface, and G is a certain finite group acting on the rigid cohomology of its complement. It is known that the rigid cohomology of a smooth projective hypersurface is amenable to direct computation. Indeed, an algorithm by Abbott, Kedlaya and Roe allows one to approximate the Frobenius on such a rigid cohomology space. In chapter 4 we will modify this algorithm to deal with the G-invariant part of cohomology. The modified algorithm can be formulated entirely in terms of weighted homogeneous polynomials, which seems natural for our applications. Chapter 5 is a collection of conjectures and open problems that are related to the earlier chapters.

Dans le chapitre 1, nous développons le “corps d’Okounkov” pour une (1,1)-classe pseudo-effective sur une variété kählerienne compacte. Nous démontrons la formule de différentiabilité des volumes de classes grosses pour les varétés kähleriennes sur lesquelles les cônes nef modifiés et les cônes nef coı̈ncident. Par conséquent, nous démontrons l’inégalité de Morse transcendante de Demailly pour ces variétés kähleriennes particulières, y compris les surfaces kähleriennes. Ensuite, nous construisons le corps d’Okounkov généralisé pour toute (1,1)-classe grosse, et nous donnons une caractérisation complète des corps d’Okounkov généralisés sur les surfaces. Nous démontrons que cela se rapporte le volume euclidien standard du corps au volume de la classe grosse correspondant défini par Boucksom, ce qui permet de résoudre un problème proposé par Lazarsfeld et Mustaţă dans le cas des surfaces. Nous étudions aussi le comportement des corps d’Okounkov généralisé sur le bord du cône gros.Dans le chapitre 2, nous étudions la dégénérescence des courbes entières qui sont les feuilles de feuilletages sur des variétés projectives. Nous généralisons l’approximation diophantienne de McQuillan pour les feuilletages de dimension 1 avec des singularités absolument isolées. Comme une application, nous donnons une nouvelle preuve du théorème de Brunella, c’est-à-dire, toutes les feuilles d’un feuilletage générique de degré superieur à 2 dans CP^n est hyperbolique. Ensuite, nous introduisons la notion singularités faiblement réduites pour les feuilletages de dimension 1. L’hypothèse de singularités faiblement réduites est moins exigeante que celle de singularités réduites, mais joue le même rôle dans l’étude de la conjecture de Green-Griffiths-Lang. Finalement, nous discutons d’une stratégie pour démontrer cette conjecture pour les surfaces complexes.Dans le chapitre 3, nous démontrons la non-dégénérescence de la mesure de volume au sens de Kobayashi-Eisenman pour une variété dirigée singulière, c’est-à-dire l’hyperbolicité de la mesure au sens de Kobayashi, lorsque le faisceau canonique est gros au sens de Demailly.Dans le chapitre 4, notre premier objectif est de traiter des questions d’effitivité liées aux conjectures de Kobayashi et Debarre, reliant sur le travail de Brotbek et celui en collaboration avec Darondeau. Ensuite, nous combinons ces techniques pour étudier la conjecture sur l’amplitude des fibrés de Demailly-Semple proposés par Diverio et Trapani, et nous obtenons des estimations effectives liées à ce problème. Notre résultat contient à la fois les conjectures de Kobayashi et Debarre, avec certaines estimations effectives.Le but du chapitre 5 est double: d’une part, nous étudions une conjecture du type Fujita proposée par Popa et Schnell, et nous donnons une borne effective linéaire sur la génération globale générique de l’image directe du faisceau pluricanonique tordu. Nous signalons également la relation entre la constante de Seshadri et la borne optimale. D’autre part, nous donnons une réponse affirmative à une question de Demailly-Peternell-Schneider dans un cadre plus général. Comme des applications, nous généralisons les théorèmes de Fujino et Gongyo sur les images des variétés de Fano faibles aux cas KLT, et nous raffinons un résultat de Broustet et Pacienza sur la connexité rationnelle de l’image.Dans le chapitre 6, nous donnons une preuve concrète et constructive de l’équivalence entre la catégorie de fibrés de Higgs semistables de classes de Chern nulles, et celle des représentations linéaires du groupe fondamental d’une variété kählerienne compacte lisse. / In Part 1 of this thesis, we construct “Okounkov bodies” for an arbitrary pseudo-effective (1,1-class on a Kähler manifold. We prove the differentiability formula of volumes of big classes for Kähler manifolds on which modified nef cones and nef cones coincide. As a consequence we prove Demailly’s transcendental Morse inequality for these particular Kähler manifolds; this includes Kähler surfaces. Then we construct the generalized Okounkov body for any big (1,1)-class, and give a complete characterization of generalized Okounkov bodies on surfaces. We show that this relates the standard Euclidean volume of the body to the volume of the corresponding big class as defined by Boucksom; this solves a problem raised by Lazarsfeld and Mustaţă in the case of surfaces. We also study the behavior of the generalized Okounkov bodies on theboundary of the big cone.Part 2 deals with Kobayashi hyperbolicity-related problems. Chapter 2’s goal is to study the degeneracy of leaves of the one-dimensional foliations on higher dimensional manifolds. The first part of Chapter 2 generalizes McQuillan’s Diophantine approximations for one-dimensional foliations with absolutely isolated singularities, on higher dimensional manifolds. As an application, we give a new proof of Brunella’s hyperbolicity theorem, that is, all the leaves of a generic foliation of degree larger than 2 in CP 6n is hyperbolic. In the second part of Chapter 2 we introduce the so-called weakly reduced singularities for one-dimensional foliations on higher dimensional manifolds. The “weakly reduced singularities” assumption is less demanding than the one required for “reduced singularities”, but play the same role in studying the Green-Griffiths-Lang conjecture. Finally we discuss a strategy to prove the Green-Griffiths-Lang conjecture for complex surfaces.In Chapter 3, assuming that the canonical sheaf is big in the sense of Demailly, we prove theKobayashi volume-hyperbolicity for any (possibly singular) directed variety.In Chapter 4, our first goal is to deal with effective questions related to the Kobayashi and Debarre conjectures, relying on the work of Brotbek and his joint work with Darondeau. We then combine these techniques to study the conjecture on the ampleness of the Demailly-Semple bundles raised by Diverio and Trapani, and also obtain some effective estimates related to this problem. Our result integrates both the Kobayashi and Debarre conjectures, with some effective estimates.The purpose of Chapter 5 is twofold: on the one hand we study a Fujita-type conjecture by Popa and Schnell, and give an effective (linear) bound on the generic global generation of the direct image of the twisted pluricanonical bundle. We also point out the relation between the Seshadri constant and the optimal bound. On the other hand, we give an affirmative answer to a question by Demailly-Peternell-Schneider in a more general setting. As applications, we generalize the theorems by Fujino and Gongyo on images of weak Fano manifolds to the Kawamata log terminal cases, and refine a result by Broustet and Pacienza on the rational connectedness of the image.In Chapter 6, we give a concrete and constructive proof of the equivalence between the category of semistable Higgs bundles with vanishing Chern classes and the category of all representations of the fundamental groups on smooth Kähler manifolds. This chapter is written for the complex geometers who are not familiar with the language of differential graded category used by Simpson to prove the above equivalence on smooth projective manifolds, and for those who would like to see an elementary proof of Corlette-Simpson correspondence for semistable Higgs bundles.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur l’étude de l’hyperbolicité complexe de compactifications de quotients de domaines symétriques bornés, et plus spécifiquement, de quotients de la boule. On souhaite ainsi comprendre la géométrie des courbes entières que ces compactifications contiennent, ainsi que le type de leurs sous-variétés. On prouve d'abord un critère métrique de positivité du fibré co-tangent d’une variété complexe, reposant notamment sur les travaux de J.-P. Demailly et de S. Boucksom. Ce critère peut s’appliquer à une large classe de variétés, dépassant le cadre précédent ; avec Y. Brunebarbe, on s'est ainsi intéressé aux variétés supportant une variation de structures de Hodge complexes. Dans le cas d’un quotient de la boule, ce critère permet de montrer qu’un revêtement ramifié d’une compactification toroïdale lisse, étale sur l’intérieur, et ramifiant à des ordres supérieurs à 7 sur le bord, ne contient que des variétés de type général en dehors de son bord. Dans ce cadre, ceci fournit une version effective d’un théorème de Y. Brunebarbe. On étudie par ailleurs d’autres situations que ces compactifications lisses : avec E.Rousseau et B. Taji, on donne des critères d'hyperbolicité complexe de ces compactifications lorsque les quotients sont singuliers. On présente aussi une version effective d’un théorème de J.-P. Demailly, concernant le caractère big des différentielles de jets sur la compactification donnée. Enfin, on montre que les méthodes métriques présentées précédemment s’étendent au cas de tous les domaines symétriques bornés ; elles fournissent alors des résultats effectifs d'hyperbolicité algébrique et transcendante pour d’autres domaines que la boule. / This work deals with the study of complex hyperbolicity of compactifications of quotients of bounded symmetric domains, and more specifically, of quotients of the ball. We are interested in the geometry of the entire curves such a compactification contains, as well as to the type of its subvarietes. We first prove a metric criterion for the positivity of the cotangent bundle of a complex manifold, based in particular on the work of J.-P. Demailly and of S. Boucksom. This criterion can be applied to a large class of manifolds, going beyond the previous frame; with Y. Brunebarbe, we apply in particular these methods to the case of manifolds supporting a complex variation of Hodge structures.In the case of a ball quotient, the criterion shows that on a ramified cover of a toroidal compactification, étale on the inside part, and ramifying at orders higher than 7 on the boundary, there is no subvariety which is not of general type, and not included in the boundary. In this setting, this gives an effective version of a theorem of Y. Brunebarbe. We also study other situations than these smooth compactifications : with E. Rousseau and B. Taji, we give metric criterions for the complex hyperbolicity of these compactifications, if the quotients are singular. In the case of the ball, we present also an effective version of a theorem of J.-P. Demailly, concerning the bigness of the Green-Griffiths jet differentials on the given compactification. Finally, we show that the previous metric methods can be applied to the case of all bounded symmetric domains ; they give effective hyperbolicity results, algebraic and transcendental, for other bounded symmetric domains than the ball.

Dans cette thèse, on s'intéresse, sous deux aspects différents, à la cohomologie des variétés de Griffiths-Schmid attachées à une forme anisotrope du groupe SU(2,2). Ces variétés ont l'avantage, au contraire des variétés de Shimura, de parfois faire apparaître dans leur cohomologie des limites dégénérées de séries discrètes. La première partie étudie ce phénomène dans le cas des limites totalement dégénérées. On prouve que les classes attachées à ces représentations peuvent s'exprimer comme cup-produits d'autres classes attachées à des séries discrètes. La seconde partie étudie les liens entre deux différentes variétés de Griffiths-Schmid obtenues à partir de deux structures complexes. L'une est celle considérée dans la première partie, et l'autre est fibrée holomorphiquement sur une variété de Shimura. On prouve l'existence d'une application bijective entre certains espaces de cohomologie, en s'appuyant sur une interprétation en termes de fonctions holomorphes de la cohomologie de Dolbeault. Ce résultat est généralisé dans l'annexe aux cas des groupes SU(n,n) et SU(n+1,n).

Both children and adults share a common, culturally distinct view of what it means to be male or female. These gender stereotypes are pervasive in society and daily social interactions, and influence all aspects of gender development (Golombok & Fivush, 1994). The inherent physical differences of boys and girls may have triggered the speculation and accompanying myths surrounding the existence of gender differences in childhood development. Many people believe that boys and girls follow a different developmental path that lead to gender differences in intellectual ability. An up-to-date and integrative review of theory and research on gender indicates two opposing perspectives on the topic, with substantial information supporting each view. However, this is the first study to examine and compare a sample of South African pre-school boys and girls from a truly holistic developmental perspective on the recently released Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER). Developmental theorists have emphasized the profound impact early childhood development has on subsequent development, as it shapes the course of an individual’s life. Contemporary cognitive developmental theories, such as Demetriou’s (2000; 2004) developmental model of cognitive development, advance that child development does not progress in a fixed and predictable manner. Instead, Demetriou proposes that development occurs in a wave-like fashion, where the processes and functions of the various levels of the mind may be at differing points in their cycle of development. When one function progresses to a higher level, it unlocks the possibility for another function to advance to a different point in its cycle (Demetriou et al., 2002). As the significance of understanding the process of early childhood development more fully increases, so does the need to establish with more confidence the value and role of developmental assessment in the early identification of problems. The overall purpose of this study was to generate comparative information regarding the general development of a sample of 5- and 6-year-old South African pre-school boys and girls. Specifically, the study aimed to explore and describe the developmental profiles of pre-school boys and girls within the abovementioned age group with respect to their overall performance on the GMDS-ER as well as their performance on the six Subscales. Then, the mean General Quotients (GQ) and developmental profiles of the pre-school boys and girls obtained on the GMDS-ER were compared. An exploratory-descriptive quantitative research method was used. The sample (N = 64) was selected through a combination of non-probability, purposive and convenience xiii sampling. Within this framework, a between-subjects design in which matching was used to control extraneous variables, was employed. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests to compare the GQs of the gender groups. A Hotellings T2 was used to compare the Subscale profiles. No significant gender differences were found when comparing the overall developmental and Subscale profiles of the boys and girls on the GMDS-ER. However, certain interesting trends did emerge from a review of the findings when compared to the literature review and previous studies. The information generated from this study has contributed to our knowledge base of the performance of South African children on the recently released GMDS-ER.

The South African context necessitates developmental assessment measures with particular characteristics. A critical examination of a variety of potential measures indicates that there are very few measures available to meet these specific needs. The GMDS-ER is judged to be one such measure. This study explores the performance of South African children aged 4 to 7 years of age as it relates to that of British children (from the standardisation sample). The samples consisted of normal South African (n=129) and British (n=161) children, where normalcy refers to the absence of sensory, physical, or mental handicap. The study was done in an attempt to explore the suitability of using the GMDS-ER in the South African context. More specifically, the following two aims were pursued: 1. To explore and describe the general development of each of four year groups of a sample of British and South African children by utilising the general developmental quotient of the GMDS-ER 2. To explore and describe the comparative developmental profiles of each of the four year groups of a sample of British and South African children across the six developmental areas represented by the subscales of the GMDS-ER. Descriptive statistics and simple t-tests were used to accomplish Aim 1 and Hotellings T2 tests were mainly used in order to accomplish Aim 2. The major findings of the present study were as follows: 1. South African and British children’s overall performances (as measured by the GMDS-ER GQ) are similar. A great deal of variability exists between the GMDS-ER profiles of normal South African and British children (i.e., when individual subscales and year groups are considered). 3. In general, South African children performed better on the Locomotor and Personal-Social Subscales, while British children performed better on the Language and Practical Reasoning Subscales. Performance on the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale was similar for the two samples and on the Performance Subscale performance was too variable to come to any general conclusions. In view of the findings, caution with regard to the use of the British-based norms in the South African context is recommended. Recommendations are made for the use of the GMDS-ER to help with the identification of specific classes of disorders in the South African context. Further investigation into the applicability of the GMDS-ER for South African use as well as the establishment of South African norms are final recommendations.

Research has shown that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the commonest neurodevelopmental disorders which has a negative impact on a child. However, to date limited research has been conducted on learners, and specifically those learners with ADHD, within a National Education stream. Furthermore, running concurrently with this are new developments in education in South Africa. An inclusive educational policy favours the incorporation of all children into a mainstream scholastic setting, regardless of their diverse needs. In addition to educational changes for children with ADHD, many parents are presently unable to afford the medication commonly used to treat the disorder, resulting in both parents and teachers having to manage these children with limited professional support. It is widely accepted that early assessment and intervention are necessary in order to maximise a child’s potential. For this reason, the primary aim of this study was to explore and describe the developmental profile of children with ADHD on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER). Further aims were to compare the performance of the clinical sample to a normal South African sample. In order to achieve these aims, a quantitative, exploratory-descriptive research design was employed. The sample (N = 38) of ADHD were selected by means of a non-probability, purposive sampling procedure, from various pre-school and primary schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The normal sample (N = 38) was drawn from an existing database created during the revision of the Scales. Information was collated using the Conners 39 Item Teacher Rating Scale, biographical data, as well as the results of an assessment from the GMDS-ER. In this study the general performance of the ADHD sample on the GMDS-ER was found to be above average. Furthermore the performance of these children on the six Subscales of the GMDS-ER ranged from average to superior, with the poorest performance being on the Eye and Hand Co-ordination Subscale, and the best performance being on the Performance Subscale. Significant differences between the ADHD and normal sample were found on the General Quotient (GQ) as well as three of the six Subscales, namely, the Hearing and Speech, Eye and Hand Co-ordination and Performance Subscales. Generally, the results of the study suggest that a specific developmental profile for children with ADHD exists. Additionally, the study highlighted the success with which the GMDS-ER can be utilised on a specific clinical population.