Unilateral Visual Neglect was measured in 12 Attention Deficit Disorder, Hyperactive elementary boys aged 8-12 years old, and 27 classroom derived boys also aged 8-12. Previous studies have suggested greater numbers of omission errors on the left side of the page in attention deficit disorder. This study compared a carefully diagnosed group of hyperactives to a classroom sample of boys to see if this type of error is particular to the ADD with H dimension of attention. The Behavioural Inattention Test (Thames Valley Test Company, (1987) series of conventional subtests, was used. This test is commonly used to detect neglect in stroke victims. Tests involve line bisection, line crossing, star and letter cancellation, representational drawing and copying of drawings. No significant differences between the two groups were found on non-parametric statistical testing of the results of four comparisons: total test score, total errors, left sided errors, right sided errors,. Some differences between the groups were noted, but scores realized were very close to the ceiling and few errors were made. It was concluded that the BIT test is not especially suitable for testing neglect in this population. / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (M. Psych. Ed.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study is to investigate how educators at schools for learners with special needs manage learners diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Two major themes were investigated, namely, the organisational structure in these schools and the interventions utilised to manage these children. This study has focused on educators in these special schools who teach learners diagnosed with this disorder. A questionnaire was administered to 31 class educators from Grade One to Grade Seven in two of these special schools in the North Durban area. Survey data indicated that educators at these two schools for learners with special needs organised their learning environment so as to facilitate the efficient management of ADHD learners. Educators utilised a range of interventions both inside and outside the classroom. The implications of these findings are for those who teach learners diagnosed with this disorder, as well as those who are involved in designing learning environments and curricula, especially in the South African context. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

Retention of verbal and non-verbal information was assessed in groups of hyperactive, normal and nonhyperactive reading disabled boys matched on age, verbal IQ and socio-economic status. The experimental tasks consisted of a series of verbal and a series of non-verbal measures that were analogous in design. Hyperactive children were comparable to normals in short-term and long-term retention of both verbal and non-verbal stimuli. However, their performance was significantly below that of normal children on tasks requiring effortful mental processing and organization. In contrast, reading disabled children were significantly worse than normals on the experimental tasks of verbal memory. This finding was interpreted as suggesting verbal encoding deficiences in nonhyperactive reading disabled children.

This study was an attempt to combine two research literatures on hyperactivity: the behaviour genetic research and the studies testing psychological theories of hyperactivity. We obtained behavioural ratings from the teachers of 1316 twin pairs, aged 7-12, from the general population. For a subsample of 268 twin pairs we obtained ratings also from their parents. Forty-six hyperactive twin pairs (pairs in which at least one twin was pervasively hyperactive) and 47 control twin pairs were then assessed on tests relating to three theories of hyperactivity, those of response inhibition deficit, working memory impairment and delay aversion. Confirming previous findings, genetic factors accounted for 50-70% of the variance in hyperactivity when considered as a continuous dimension. There was also significant evidence of genetic effects on extreme hyperactivity, although the present group heritability estimates were somewhat lower than previous estimates. The hyperactive group performed worse than the control group on the delay aversion measure and some of the working memory tasks. Controlling for IQ removed the significant group differences on the working memory measures, however. Although there were no significant group differences on the inhibition variables, the inhibition measure, stop task, produced evidence of a pattern of responding that was strongly characteristic of hyperactivity: hyperactive children were variable in their speed, generally slow and inaccurate. This pattern of responding may indicate a non-optimal effort/activation state. To investigate the possibility that the cognitive impairments or task engagement factors associated with hyperactivity mediate the genetic effects on the condition, bivariate group heritability analyses were carried out. There was significant evidence of shared genetic effects only on extreme hyperactivity and the variability of speed. The findings are interpreted as supporting the state regulation theory of hyperactivity. Although delay aversion is a characteristic of hyperactivity, it seems to have an environmental rather than a genetic origin.

Four studies were designed to examine the effects of stimulus novelty on looking time, preference, and processing efficiency in hyperactive children. Two control groups were selected; normal children and nonhyperactive poor readers. According to underarousal theories of hyperactivity, the hyperactives should show a unique, heightened attraction to novel stimuli. / Novelty was defined in two ways, as incongruity and as unfamiliarity. The responses of all three groups varied systematically as a function of the changes in novelty. There was limited evidence that the hyperactives were unusually attracted to the novel materials. Although they initially spent more time viewing the incongruous stimuli, this heightened interest was short-lived. Furthermore, this attraction was not apparent in their preference judgments, or in their looking time for unfamiliar stimuli. Tests of recognition and speeded matching indicated that the hyperactives needed more time than normals to process both ordinary and novel stimuli. However, they did not take this extra time unless they were motivated by the presentation of incongruous stimuli or were guided by the experimenter. Poor readers, in contrast, showed no special attraction to novelty. They tended to adopt a slower free-viewing pace than normals, possibly due to difficulty processing complex materials. However, they did not differ from normal children in speed or accuracy of matching simple stimuli.

No description available.