Attentional characteristics and teachers ratings in hyperactive, reading disabled, and normal boys

Boys classified as hyperactive, reading disabled, and normal in behavior and achievement were contrasted on measures of attention and teacher ratings to ascertain differences in attention and impulse control and thereby provide greater diagnostic precision in identifying the two clinical groups. Multivariate analyses followed by univariate tests indicated that both the clinical groups performed more poorly than normal controls on each of the measures administered except on one visual search task related to selective attention. Further, hyperactive children experienced significantly greater difficulty on tasks requiring sustained attention and impulse control. The finding that reading disabled (nonhyperactive) children were rated by their teachers as less impulsive than normal controls was interpreted as lending support to the hypothesis that children with specific learning disabilities are “passive learners”; who fail to initiate meaningful task strategies, thereby additionally impairing academic functioning.