Date of Award
2002
Degree Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
W. Grant Willis
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether children with two subtypes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) differ from normally developing children in their discourse-organization abilities on story-reconstruction tasks. Participants were 68 children, aged 7 to 13 years, from two groups: an ADHD group from archival clinic files comprised of both the inattentive and combined subtypes, and a normal comparison group recruited from a YMCA program. Children in the normal comparison group were administered four tasks, which the clinical group had been administered previously. The tasks assessed receptive language, memory for sentences and stories, and visual construction. The story memory task also was scored on several discourse-organization variables. Results showed no differences among groups on most measures of memory and language, except on recognition memory. The groups differed on two aspects of discourse organization, namely story memory and number of exact items recalled. Overall prediction of group membership using variables on which the groups differed yielded a 57% hit rate, and improved on the base rates for two of the three diagnostic groups. Possible explanations for the differences are discussed, as well as implications for Barkley's theory of ADHD, diagnostic decision making, and for academic and social functioning of children with ADHD.
Recommended Citation
Mashikian, Sonia C., "Quality of discourse organization on a story-reconstruction task in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and normally developing peers" (2002). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1858.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1858
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