Educators are often unaware of the effects of psychological trauma on learners. Through the examples of two students, a fifth grader and a first-year college student, the author explores the intersections between trauma and learning and discusses how teachers might mitigate the effects of trauma in their classrooms.

Increased variability in reaction time (RT) has been proposed as a cardinal feature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Increased variability during sustained attention tasks may reflect inefficient fronto-striatal and fronto-parietal circuitry; activity within these circuits is modulated by the catecholamines. A disruption to…

This study explored possible deficits in selective attention brought about by Dementia of Alzheimer Type (DAT). In three experiments, we tested patients with early DAT, healthy elderly, and young adults under low memory demands to assess perceptual filtering, conflict resolution, and set switching abilities. We found no evidence of impaired…

Many authors claim that students' attention declines approximately 10 to 15 min into lectures. To evaluate this claim, we reviewed several types of studies including studies of student note taking, observations of students during lectures, and self-reports of student attention, as well as studies using physiological measures of attention. We found…

Objective: The present article tests the hypothesis of a sustained attention deficit in children and adults suffering from ADHD. Method: Vigilance and sustained attention of 52 children with ADHD and 38 adults with ADHD were assessed using a computerized vigilance task. Furthermore, the attentional performance of healthy children (N = 52) and…

Objective: Scholastic achievement in a nonclinical sample of ADHD children and adolescents was evaluated taking into consideration variables such as comorbid learning disorders, family income, and parental education which may also be associated with poor academic performance. Method: After screening for ADHD in 396 students, the authors compared…

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between the binding of visual features (as measured by their after-effects on subsequent binding) and the learning of feature-conjunction probabilities. Both binding and learning effects were obtained, but they did not interact. Interestingly, (shape-color) binding effects…

Background: Earlier studies of young people with Down's syndrome have investigated a relatively limited range of variables which may influence their academic attainment. The relative strength of such influences and how they may vary during the school career, has also been under-researched. Aims: The aim of the paper is to identify the contemporary…

The purpose of this study is to determine the latent structure of the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000) at three different age levels, using the standardization sample. Maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analyses are performed to test four competing hypothetical models for fit and…

Occupational therapists working in the school system setting report using weighted vests as a technique to improve attention and sensory processing for students who have an autism spectrum disorder. Some critics, however, contend that this technique is used without evidence of effectiveness. This study examines the overall research available on…

Few studies have specifically investigated the cognitive correlates of employment for persons with mental retardation. To evaluate the relationship of cognitive and adaptive functioning to work status, 56 competitively employed and 55 unemployed individuals with mental retardation underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological and adaptive…

Neurobiological models propose an evolutionary, vertical-integrative perspective on emotion and behavior regulation, which postulates that regulatory functions are processed along three core brain systems: the brainstem, limbic, and cortical systems. To date, few developmental studies applied these models to research on prenatal and perinatal…

Joint attention, a foundational nonverbal social-communicative milestone that fails to develop naturally in autism, was promoted for three toddlers with early-identified autism through a parent-mediated, developmentally grounded, researcher-guided intervention model. A multiple baseline design compared child performance across four phases of…

Parents' goal orientations in parent-child reminiscing were examined in this study, where 28 preschoolers (mean age = 46 months) experienced a standardized event. Dyads discussed the event that evening, with parents randomly assigned to either an "outcome-oriented" or a "process-oriented" condition. Outcome-oriented parents, who were told that…

This article reviews the hypothesis that mind wandering can be integrated into executive models of attention. Evidence suggests that mind wandering shares many similarities with traditional notions of executive control. When mind wandering occurs, the executive components of attention appear to shift away from the primary task, leading to failures…