Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common developmental disorder that occurs in childhood and is characterized by attention deficit, with or without high levels of hyperactivity-impulsivity. ADHD in children is accompanied by a variety of difficulties and problems related to language, higher executive functions such as working memory and emotion self-regulation, behavior and socialization. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible differences in visuomotor organization and visual memory between children with ADHD and typically developing children. The experimental group consisted of 54 children with ADHD symptoms (36 boys and 18 girls, mean age 9.2 years, range 6-11 years), who were matched in age, gender and handedness with an equal number of typically developing children who formed the comparison group. To assess visuomotor organization and visual memory, both groups were administered the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure and tested on its replication and mnemonic reproduction. The analysis revealed no significant differences in the performance of the two groups in copying the complex figure, but the ADHD students showed significantly lower performance than typically developing children in its mnemonic reproduction. This lower performance was observed regardless of whether the children of the ADHD group belong to the inattentive, hyperactivity, or the combined subtype. These results suggest that children with ADHD are likely to experience cognitive deficits that affect the visual memory system much more than that of visuomotor organization.

Authors:
Filippos Vlachos, University of Thessaly, Greece
Maria Chalmpe, University of Thessaly, Greece
Paraskevi Agapitou, University of Thessaly, Greece
Fotini Bonoti, University of Thessaly, Greece

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Filippos Vlachos is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at University of Thessaly in Greece

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

Bookmark