Effects of Visual Distractions in the Classroom Environment on the Time on Task of Elementary Students with ADHD

The focus of this study is to demonstrate that the visual distractions, narrowly defined as wall decoration, in an elementary classroom can be a factor in the amount of time students with ADHD spend on-task in that classroom. This study builds upon the information revealed by studies conducted by such researchers as Creekmore (1987), Cruickshank (1967), Doyle, Anderson, and Halcomb (1976), and Steinkamp (1980), which tested the effects of visual distractions on participants with ADD/HD . These studies did not use learning tasks and used distractions that are not typical to an elementary classroom. This study attempted to answer the question of whether elementary students with ADHD would have a higher percentage of time on task in an organized environment and a lower percentage of time on task in a visually distracting environment. This study used a learning task and tried to create distractions in the environment that are typical to an elementary classroom. Six students participated, ranging from second to fifth grade, three with a diagnosis of ADHD paired with three without an ADHD diagnosis. Three rooms were used to create three classroom environments, each with a different amount of wall decoration. The results show that participants with a diagnosis of ADHD had the highest percentage of time on-task inthe environment with the least decoration. Participants with ADHD had a low percentage of time on-task in the environment that had the least organized, most cluttered decoration. Participants with ADHD had the highest percentage of time on-task in the room with the least decoration and the lowest percentage of time on-task in the least organized environment. Participants without a diagnosis of ADHD had the highest percentage of time on-task in the environment with controlled and organized decoration, with a slightly lower percentage of time on-task in the room with the least decoration. Participants without ADHD had the lowest percentage of time on-task in the environment with the least organized, most cluttered decoration. Due to the small number of participants, it cannot be concluded with certainty which environment results in the highest percentage of time on-task for elementary students with ADHD