Understanding, Distinguishing, and Treating Learning Disorders and Attention Deficit Disorder

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1993
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
The purpose of this pilot study is 1) to summarize the current understanding of learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder, and 2) to investigate if a test of temporal processing and serial memory, The Repetition Test, can locate and distinguish these two disorders from each other. The disorders are defined, with special attention given to the similarities that make proper diagnosis difficult, necessitating a test for accurate diagnosis. Subjects were presented with a series of high or low tones varying in number and length, and then asked to mimic the series back by pressing two buttons in the correct order. Results indicate that difficulty with tones that are presented quickly is an accurate indicator of a learning disorder, while difficulty with more slowly presented tones is a good indicator of an attention deficit disorder, as hypothesized. The subtest that presents two quick tones is the best indicator of a learning disability. The effects of ritalin (the commonly prescribed medication used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder) were also investigated in the subjects with Attention Deficit Disorder, and it was found that the Repetition Test's accuracy is still valid even when a subject is being medicated. This pilot study finds The Repetition Test to be valid at distinguishing people with learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder from each other and from those without it, but the small sample size of one group warrants another, more thorough investigation.
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