This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Richards, G. P. Articles by Ysseldyke, J. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Richards, G. P. Articles by Ysseldyke, J. E. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sustained and Selective Attention in Children with Learning Disabilities

Gail P. Richards is a clinical psychologist at Henne-pin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota.

S. Jay Samuels

S. Jay Samuels is professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Psychological Foundations of Education, University of Minnesota.

James E. Turnure

James E. Turnure is professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Special Education Program, University of Minnesota.

James E. Ysseldyke

James E. Ysseldyke is professor of educational psychology and coordinator of the School Psychology Program at the University of Minnesota. Address: Gail P. Richards, PhD, Department of Psychiatry #844, Hennepin County Medical Center, 701 Park Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415.

Sustained and selective attention of 30 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and 20 controls were compared. A continuous performance test (CPT) yielded no differences for students with LD and controls, suggesting similar ability for both groups in sustaining attention and inhibiting impulsive responding. Subjects with LD made more errors than controls on a selective attention task when letter distractors were adjacent to the target letter but not when they were distant, and more correct responses than controls when facilitating letters were adjacent to the target, suggesting that students with LD are less able to narrow the focus of their attention. Longer response times by students with LD indicate that they have slower information-processing skills than controls. Regrouping students according to teacher ratings for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) yielded the customary impulsive response set on the CPT and more errors on the selective attention task, but no differences on response times for students with ADHD. LD students with ADHD made more errors than LD students without ADHD when letter distractors were adjacent to the target letter.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 23, No. 2, 129-136 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/002221949002300210


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. J. Spaulding, E. Plante, and R. Vance Sustained Selective Attention Skills of Preschool Children With Specific Language Impairment: Evidence for Separate Attentional Capacities J Speech Lang Hear Res, February 1, 2008; 51(1): 16 - 34. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R.R. Horsley and H. J. Cassaday Methylphenidate can reduce selectivity in associative learning in an aversive trace conditioning task J Psychopharmacol, July 1, 2007; 21(5): 492 - 500. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. Tsal, L. Shalev, and C. Mevorach The Diversity of Attention Deficits in ADHD: The Prevalence of Four Cognitive Factors in ADHD Versus Controls J Learn Disabil, April 1, 2005; 38(2): 142 - 157. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Shalev and Y. Tsal The Wide Attentional Window: A Major Deficit of Children with Attention Difficulties J Learn Disabil, December 1, 2003; 36(6): 517 - 527. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. D. Weiler, J. H. Bernstein, D. Bellinger, and D. P. Waber Information Processing Deficits in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive Type, and Children with Reading Disability J Learn Disabil, October 1, 2002; 35(5): 449 - 462. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Boden and D. A. Brodeur Visual Processing of Verbal and Nonverbal Stimuli in Adolescents with Reading Disabilities J Learn Disabil, January 1, 1999; 32(1): 58 - 71. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Tirosh, J. Berger, M. Cohen-Ophir, M. Davidovitch, and A. Cohen Learning Disabilities With and Without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Parents' and Teachers' Perspectives J Child Neurol, June 1, 1998; 13(6): 270 - 276. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Korkman and A.-E. Pesonen A Comparison of Neuropsychological Test Profiles of Children with Attention Deficit--Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Learning Disorder J Learn Disabil, June 1, 1994; 27(6): 383 - 392. [Abstract] [PDF]