OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of attention level in normal children and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) children on Continuous Performance Test(CPT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST) performances. METHODS: For this survey, the ADHD children were classified into low, medium, and high attention groups according to the attention level. Normal group of children, chosen for their same attention level as that of high attention level group among ADHD groups, was compared in their CPT and WCST performances with ADHD groups. RESULTS: The findings of the study were as follows. 1) the ADHD groups distinguished by their attention level;in other words, the low, medium, and high attention level groups;showed no differences in CPT performances. This means the unique cognitive deficit of ADHD group is not the character of attention capacity limit. 2) the ADHD group showed lower performances on WCST than the normal group, regardless of attention level. CONCLUSION: ADHD group have a deficit in the ability of regulation strategy, adaptability of attention, and non appropriate response, which are needed for efficient division of prescribed information processing. These results imply that the cognitive deficit of ADHD is a character which shows that the execution deficit, which is a higher cognitive function, is a cognitive deficit of ADHD group, rather than simple attention deficit.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* ; Automatic Data Processing ; Child ; Humans ; Wisconsin