Thirty grade 4 subjects were individually tested on a digit span test of working memory capacity (Case and Kurland) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman and Carpenter). The Reading Span Test was administered using sentences at a grade 2, grade 4, and grade 6 reading level. It was predicted that, as the decoding demands of the stimulus sentences in…

A study was conducted to determine if attentional difficulties would be found in reading disabled children and to discover if increasing the complexity of a task would result in a relative decrease in the performance of the children. Twelve dyslexic boys, aged eight and nine, and 12 normal subjects similar in age and IQ participated in the study.…

Sustained attention and inhibitory control of 15 nonhyperactive, learning disabled (LD) boys, 15 hyperactive but not LD boys, and 15 normal boys (11-12 years old) were studied, on teacher ratings of impulse control in the classroom and testing results. Coming to attention, decision making, sustained attention, and attention-concentration were…

Two studies are described which were conducted at the University of Kansas Center for Research on the Influence of Television on Children to evaluate the effects of form and content independently on the social behavior of young children. In both studies, preschool children were observed during an unstructured play session in a laboratory room…

Twenty-eight moderately and profoundly retarded children (9 to 17 years old) on one unit of a center for the developmentally disabled were taught a nonvocal symbol system based on that developed by D. Premack. Children varied in speech level from totally nonverbal to some who had simple language skills. The symbol system used a behavioral approach…

The study compared performance on the Continuous Performance Task by 18 elementary grade children having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), 15 conduct disordered, 26 mixed conduct disorder and ADDH, 15 emotionally disturbed, 22 learning disabled, and 15 nondisabled students. Hyperactive children did not demonstrate a unique…

Measures children's attention to television programs varying in pace and continuity and assesses recall of the temporal sequence of program events. Attention and comprehension covaried more in animated than in live shows. Age, continuity, and pace effects on recall were not fully accounted for by their effects on attention. (Author/AS)

Results indicated that the attentiveness of performers in a university symphonic band was a function of both performance time and treatment. Student attitudes were related significantly to music, conductors, and their interaction. (Author/RM)

This study replicated Daneman and Carpenter's finding that the reading span test, as a measure of working memory storage and process functions, is predictive of performance on standard reading comprehension tests. It showed that reading span is related to the ability to draw inferences from, integrate, and encode text information. (Author/PN)

Concludes that children could attend to texts selectively when reading or listening to expository prose, and when reading, but not in listening to narrative prose. (FL)

Study I examined activity spans in four types of preschool establishments. Overall span was greatest in the nursery school and lowest in the day nursery. Study II examined attention spans in a primary school. Both studies demonstrated the influence of adults in increasing children's attention. (Author/SJL)

Investigates the creativity and behavior precipitated by employing the mandala as an active centering device for children with Attention-Deficit Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Drawings were requested and rated according to the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale. Preliminary findings indicate that attentional abilities…

A study using a widely used clinical assessment instrument examined whether eight children (ages 9-19) with Asperger syndrome had a greater number of attention deficit symptoms than controls. Evidence of an attention deficit, as measured by a computerized test of attention, was seen in a majority of the subjects. (Contains references.) (CR)

A survey of 31 college students with learning disabilities found few used comprehensive and effective notetaking techniques, with only a small number requesting notetaking accommodations. Major difficulties included speed of writing, paying attention, making sense of notes afterward, and deciding what information to record. Programing and research…

A study investigated the relations between various measures of social understanding and social interaction competence in verbally able children with autism (n=20). Initiating joint attention and empathy were strongly related measures of social interaction competence. No understanding-behavioral links were identified for 20 language-age matched…