Attention Deficits In Children With Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Twenty-one experimental studies of attention deficits in children with learning disabilities were reviewed. Included in the review were studies of distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsivity, vigilance, and intersensory integration. From the accumulated evidence, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) Children with learning disabilities exhibit more distractibility than controls on tasks involving embedded contexts (figure-ground perception tasks) and on tests of incidental vs. central learning. They are not differentially distracted by other types of distractors such as flashing lights and extraneous color cues. (2) Hyperactivity of children with learning disabilities may be situational-specific, with higher levels of activity being exhibited in the structured situation. (3) Children with learning disabilities are more impulsive, i.e. less reflective, than controls. (4) Children with learning disabilities are deficient in their ability to maintain attention over prolonged periods of time. Studies of attention within a standardized testing framework were also discussed