Compared teachers' ratings of students and students' marks in reading and math and their achievement test scores during their first, second, and fourth years in school. Teachers' ratings of students' interest and participation and their attention span and restlessness were related to students' first-year achievement test scores and their marks in…

A study of a 12-year-old boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder investigated the effectiveness of a token economy incentive program implemented in the home setting to increase attention to task while doing homework assignments. Results found the boy's percentage of time spent on-task increased markedly. (Author/CR)

Examined visual fixation in infants 6 months to 2 years old for fit with theory of attentional inertia. Found that fixations had lognormal distribution, heart rate decreased during a look, and heart rate returned to prestimulus levels immediately before look offset. Older children showed different looking patterns to two types of stimuli; younger…

Thirty-eight children with autism were given movement therapy in small groups led by a trained movement therapist. After two months of biweekly sessions, the children spent less time wandering, more time showing on-task behavior, less time showing negative responses to being touched, and less time resisting the teacher than those in the control…

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dexmethylphenidate hydrochloride (d-MPH, Focalin[TM]) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to test an a priori hypothesis that d-MPH would have a longer duration of action than d,l-threo-methylphenidate (d,l-MPH). Method: This was a randomized, double-blind study…

Objective: To examine gender differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ("ADHD") symptom comorbidity with "oppositional defiant disorder", "conduct disorder", "separation anxiety disorder", "generalized anxiety disorder", speech therapy, and remedial reading in children. Method: From…

The purpose of the present study was to analyse possible developmental trends in sustained attention through the pre-school period, as well as the influence of social and physical distractions. Three samples of children, one per each pre-school grade, were observed during learning activities required by the teacher. Children's behaviour was coded…

This study examined the planning performance of children with attention deficits, and also investigated the possible interactions between inattention and anxiety in the performance of executive function tasks. A group of 98 children (grades 4 and 6), derived from an initial group of 550, were assigned to an attention difficulties group (AD) and a…

This article describes how counselors may use the portrayal of a historical character in the classroom to teach lessons on self-esteem, motivation, and goal setting. Keeping with a creative spirit, a classroom guidance lesson that involves the use of character portrayal can be engaging for students. This involves the counselor assuming the…

Test-retest reliability of the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) was investigated in two studies using two different time intervals: 90 min and 1 week (plus or minus 2 days). To investigate the 90-min reliability, 31 school-age children (M = 10 years, SD = 2.66) were administered the T.O.V.A. then read ministered the test 90 min afterward.…

This paper investigates whether there is a correlation between a poor Visual Attention Span (VAS) and the child's optometric status. Convergence excess impacts most upon a male achieving a VAS-3 more than 75 per cent of the time. Fifty per cent of females with eye-teaming problems are unlikely to achieve a VAS-3 more than 25 per cent of the time.…

Disruptive behavior may be associated with poor academic achievement due to covariance with attention problems and low IQ. Evidence is based on clinical samples and on associations between problem behaviors in young children and later achievement difficulties. The contemporaneous relations and their genetic and environmental influences have not…

Examinations of interference between verbal and visual materials in working memory have produced mixed results. If there is a central form of storage (e.g., the focus of attention; N. Cowan, 2001), then cross-domain interference should be obtained. The authors examined this question with a visual-array comparison task (S. J. Luck & E. K. Vogel,…

This paper investigates the determinants and malleability of noncognitive skills. Using data on boys from the National Education Longitudinal Survey, I focus on youth behavior in the classroom as a measure of noncognitive skills. I find that student behavior during adolescence is persistent. The variation in behavior can be attributed to…

Objective: The authors analyze the occurrence of grade repetition and inattention in children diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Method: The participant group consisted of 310 patients with NF1 and a control group of 242 individuals. The number of grade repetitions for each participant during his or her time in elementary, middle, and…