The Effects of Computer-Administered Choice on Students with and without Characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Providing choice to individual students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has previously been demonstrated (in single-subject research) to reduce undesirable behavior but has failed to demonstrate gains that are independent of task difficulty or interests/preferences. We examined choice of feedback type on a computerized math task for 9 students with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 17 typical peers. A brief choice was sufficient to modulate behavior of students with ADHD, especially over time. In addition, spoken problems with positive visual feedback “normalized“ their performance. The educational implications of these findings were that even minimal curriculum options in general education could differentially improve the behavioral responses of students with ADHD.