Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Underlying Deficits in Achievement Motivation

This South African study aims at contributing to the debate regarding the processes underlying the core deficits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by investigating the motivational factors underlying the symptoms of ADHD. It investigates the difference between adolescents with ADHD (combined type) and adolescents without ADHD regarding their achievement motivation. The results add to previous knowledge regarding the motivational deficits demonstrated by ADHD children and provide a valuable insight into their achievement motivational patterns, especially regarding negative fear of failure and the motive to achieve. Recommendations are suggested regarding educational and therapeutic strategies to improve the ADHD child's motivation at home and at school.     

Recognizing and Treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in College Students

Traditionally diagnosed in children, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is now regarded as a life span condition. The academic difficulties experienced by children and adolescents with ADHD have been observed to continue into young adulthood. Treatment outcome studies demonstrate that behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic interventions can be beneficial in improving ADHD symptoms such as inattention, and so facilitate academic performance in young adults with ADHD. This review discusses how ADHD leads to academic underperformance, the warning signs of undiagnosed ADHD, and the potential impact interventions can have on adult academic impairment.     

Parenting Stress and Youth Symptoms Among Girls With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective. To examine the aspects of parenting stress—parental distress and parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions—reported by mothers of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in both childhood and adolescence and to understand their associations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence. Design. The diverse sample comprised 120 girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and 81 age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls, evaluated at ages 6–12 years and followed prospectively for 5 years. Basic demographics, oppositionality, childhood behavioral outcomes and symptoms, and key parenting practice were covaried in the analyses. Results. Longitudinally, parental distress during the participants’ childhood was positively associated with adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors, even when statistically controlling for parallel childhood behaviors. Parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions during adolescence was associated with contemporaneous adolescent depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors, but parental distress was associated with only internalizing behaviors. With respect to moderation by diagnostic group, parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions (in childhood) was associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms only in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, associations between parental distress in childhood and internalizing behaviors were stronger in the comparison than the ADHD sample. Conclusions. Minimizing early dysfunctional interactions might reduce internalizing behaviors in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Interventions targeting parental distress may be beneficial for girls, regardless of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder status.     

Teacher and Student Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Three Cultural Settings

Since the criteria for diagnosis of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) include that the symptoms present in at least two situations, usually home and school, the role of teachers in the identification and diagnosis of this condition is crucial. There is, however, evidence of inter-cultural differences in ratings of AD/HD in children and young people, by teachers and others, though it is not possible to make comparisons between the various studies, because the conditions were not comparable. The focus of this article is the cultural influences on ratings of AD/HD-type behaviour. Evidence is presented of culturally related differences in such ratings, under conditions designed to ensure directly comparable conditions, involving teachers and student teachers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. There was some evidence that the teachers from mainland China rated the behaviour of a "target" child, presented on video, higher on a number of items than either the teachers from Hong Kong or the United Kingdom. There was only limited evidence of differences between the ratings of teachers and student teachers within the same culture.     

Response Inhibition,Memory, and Attention in Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Newly developed measures of response inhibition, verbal and non-verbal memory, and attention were applied to a sample of boys diagnosed with ADHD (n = 50; 14 predominantly inattentive type and 36 combined type) with no diagnosed comorbid conditions, who had received no stimulant medication for a minimum period of 20 hours prior to test administration. Performance was assessed relative to 50 individually age-matched control boys. Results revealed significant multivariate group differences on all three tests, supported by univariate effects on measures of verbal memory and attentional switching. In all cases, ADHD boys performed more poorly than the control boys. However, contrary to expectations, boys with ADHD made significantly fewer impulsive responses (false positives) on the specific measure of response, despite recording significantly more misses than the controls. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed according to ADHD subtype. The present research therefore demonstrates and more fully characterises the nature of the observed memory and attentional impairments in boys with ADHD and would appear to have clear implications for education and the further development of theory.     

A Weak Association between Traits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Gambling in College Students

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been characterized as a comorbidity to pathological gambling (PG). However, contradictory evidence has emerged, and it has not been established whether nonimpulsive features of ADHD (e.g., inattention, hyperactivity) contribute to PG risk, or how robust this relationship is in college samples. Using data from 224 college students, multiple regression analyses examined the association between ADHD traits and gambling. A marginal link between impulsivity and gambling emerged, but only in males; hyperactivity and inattention were unrelated to gambling. Therefore, caution should be used in attributing risk for PG to college students with ADHD traits, particularly inattention and hyperactivity.     

Contributions of Maternal Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms to Parenting

Objective. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms on several dimensions of parenting. Design. One-hundred seven mothers of young adolescents provided ratings of their own attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior, as well as their adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the relative contributions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms to parenting. Greater levels of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology were associated with poorer monitoring, whereas more oppositional defiant disorder symptoms were associated with lower levels of parenting involvement and positive reinforcement and higher levels of overreactivity and use of corporal punishment. Conclusions. Maternal oppositional defiant disorder behaviors were particularly associated with negative, affective dimensions of parenting. Understanding the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parenting may require consideration of concomitant maternal oppositional defiant disorder symptoms.     

Early identification and systemic educational intervention for young children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

This paper focuses on the international experience with early identification and intervention for children with AD/HD. Much less is known about AD/HD in two- to five-year-old preschool children than is known for older school-aged youngsters. Despite this lack of knowledge, AD/HD is increasingly recognized in this population and stimulant medication increasingly prescribed to treat it. The lack of control of temperamental patterns in preschoolers seems related to later observations of hyperactivity, attention problems and antisocial behaviours in school-aged children. The emergence and continuity of AD/HD-like behaviours is influenced not only by genetic, pre- and perinatal factors, but also by social context factors. All these influences interact with a child's developmental needs in complex ways according to a systemic bio-psychosocial model. The undiagnosed AD/HD child will often be labelled by parents as difficult and the family scapegoat. Because of the age of the children and the variety of ‘normal behaviour’ in this group, interventions should include systemic, environmental and play-centred approaches.     

Diagnosis,Treatment, and Educational Implications for Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the United States,Australia, and the United Kingdom

For many years there has been debate over Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and whether this condition, which commonly afflicts adolescent children, is a medical or social condition and whether it is exclusively an American phenomenon. This article reviews the basis of ADHD's definition, diagnosis, treatment, and educational implications across three countries: the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The differences in approach have clear and significant consequences for children and their futures.     

Parameters of Adherence to a Yearlong Daily Report Card Intervention for Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Given that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic disorder, which is likely to require sustained treatment, investigations of the adherence to long-term treatments are clearly needed. The current project is the first analysis examining the parameters of adherence to a daily report card (DRC) intervention over the course of an academic school year. To gain a greater understanding of the complexities inherent in long-term treatment implementation, parameters of adherence with respect to specific, setting-related criteria (i.e., month of the school year, day of the week, and consultant contact) were examined. Participants were 33 children enrolled in first through sixth grade. All participants were diagnosed with ADHD (85% were diagnosed with comorbid oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder), received special education services, and were assigned to an intervention condition wherein behavioral consultants worked with the teacher and parent to construct and implement a DRC intervention. Overall, results provide preliminary support for the utility of the DRC as a sustainable intervention for the duration of an entire school year. Although rates of adherence were relatively stable, a fine-grained examination indicated variability in adherence across days of the week and around behavioral consultation meetings. These results contribute to the research literature supporting the utility of continued behavioral support to enhance treatment adherence.     

Peer-Related Personal Experiences of Children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder With and Without Comorbid Learning Disabilities

This research investigates the peer-related social functioning of 291 children (185 males, 106 females), aged from 8 years to 17 years and 8 months diagnosed with varying Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) subtypes (i.e., Predominantly Inattentive m I, Combined m C) with and without comorbid learning disabilities (LD). All were administered the Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire which is comprised of six reliable and valid measures: Social Desirability, Interpersonal Difficulties, Social Self-Concept, Social Self-Confidence, Preference for Solitude, and Social Interaction Anxiety. Results revealed that neither Gender, Age, nor Social Desirability were significantly associated with children's self-reports. Pearson correlations demonstrated that the strength and magnitude of associations between self-reports of interpersonal relationships varied according to group status. With the exception of Preference for Solitude, analyses of variance revealed significant differences in self-reports by group, as related to the presence or absence of LD, particularly for the ADHD-C+LD compared to the ADHD-I+LD group. Psychoeducational and clinical implications for understanding the functional and discriminant significance of social impairment among children with varying ADHD subtypes with comorbid LD are discussed in light of these research findings.     

A review of the literature on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder children: Peer interactions and collaborative learning

ADHD children may have social skill deficits in at least three main areas: social communication, poor emotional regulation, and social-cognitive biases. They also have cognitive difficulties which have implications for their learning. Based on a review of the literature, it is argued that maladaptive classroom peer interactions for ADHD children may disadvantage their learning on collaborative tasks. Although the literature is sparse in the area of peer interactions and collaborative learning for ADHD children, some suggestions for practice and future research are suggested. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Motor control and sequencing of boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during computer game play

The motor control of 49 unmedicated boys clinically diagnosed with ADHD, case‐matched with 49 non‐ADHD boys, was assessed while playing Crash Bandicoot I, a Sony^TM Playstation platform computer video game. In Crash Bandicoot participants control the movements of a small‐animated figure through a hazardous jungle environment. Operationally defined measures of motor control were designated by (1) the stage of the game completed (ie, the number of obstacles successfully passed) before losing the figure's ‘life’, (2) the level of complexity that the stage represented and (3) the time taken to get to that point during the video game play. These measures were assessed under contrasting conditions of low or high working memory and distracter loads. Four tasks were administered (totalling 12 trials), incorporating both with and without distracter conditions. For those trials with the distracter, a segment of the television show The Simpsons was simultaneously played on a television screen adjacent to the computer game monitor. A 5‐way MANOVA revealed that ADHD boys took less time to complete their trials under the direct condition (ie, no working memory load) on Crash Bandicoot, compared to their matched non‐ADHD peers. When the task required additional working memory, however, the ADHD boys took significantly longer. Cumulative frequency plots of game performance revealed that in terms of the number of obstacles completed, the control participants successfully navigated more obstacles on the low working memory load task than the ADHD participants, but that the performance of the two groups was less distinguishable on the high working memory load task. The findings have implications for assessment and management of children with ADHD.     

Reading Disability Secondary to Attention Deficit Disorder: A Neglected Syndrome

Schemes for classifying reading disabilities have focused too narrowly on deficiencies in reception, analysis and storage of sensory information. An expanded view of the cognitive deficits that may produce reading disabilities is proposed. A case is made for recognising the possible role of primary deficiencies in attention in the production of reading disabilities, particularly in young children in the initial stages of learning to read. A simple taxonomy of reading disabilities based on the underlying cognitive deficits causing the disorder is proposed. Diagnostic criteria are presented for differentiating reading disabilities due to sensory information processing deficits from disabilities due to attentional deficits, including: standardised tests, qualitative analyses of performance on reading and non-reading tasks, behaviour observations, and response to remediation.     

自闭症谱系阅读障碍研究综述

自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)学生的阅读研究在国外已经开展了二、三十年,但在国内还处于起步阶段。随着一批具有学业能力的ASD儿童进入小学,他们的学习能力和特点,尤其阅读的方法和如何提高他们阅读理解能力等问题,引起儿童家长和学校教师更多的关注。本文评介和分析了ASD学生阅读的特征、机制和干预原理,在总结国外相关研究成果的基础上,对如何结合我国语言文字的特点开展自闭症谱系障碍的阅读研究提出了几点建议。     

阅读障碍与数学学习障碍共生现象的研究

“共生”是学习障碍研究领域近期提出的一个新概念,其中阅读障碍与数学学习障碍共生现象在学习障碍领域存在尤为普遍,近年来研究者对阅读障碍与数学学习障碍共生现象的诊断和发生率、表现特征、产生原因等方面进行了研究,并取得了较大进展。然而对阅读障碍与数学学习障碍共生现象还有许多问题有待研究。     

注意缺损多动障碍与情绪的相关研究综述

ADHD的症状非常复杂,并因其往往伴随其他障碍而引起广大研究者的兴趣。情感功能模型理论包括情感表达的技能、情感识别和评估以及情绪调节,总称为“情感能力”。以往研究主要是从多动症儿童的发病机制以及多动症的治疗和干预等方面进行,近年来国外开始关注多动症儿童情感能力的研究。文章综述了国内外多动症儿童情绪特征研究的重要成果,为国内学者进行多动症的相关研究开辟了新的视角。     

澳大利亚《2005年残疾人教育标准》：内容、特征及启示

《2005年残疾人教育标准》是澳大利亚为促进残疾人教育、保障残疾人权益的一部详尽法规,其具体的规范不仅有效地保障了残疾人受教育和培训的权利,而且保障了实施主体的操作与执行,是一部在立法、实施和监管方面都相对完善的法规,为我国残疾人教育立法提供了重要启示和借鉴。