Speed, speed variability, and accuracy of information processing in 5 to 6-year-old children at risk of ADHD

The early assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(adhd) children has mainly focused on the behavioral, social, andpre-academic impairments. This study examined whether 5 to 6-year-oldchildren at risk of adhd are characterized by information-processingdeficits. By screening 1,317 children in southern limburg (thenetherlands) with the child behavior checklist, 363 were selected andunderwent a computerized examination. Eighteen months later, standardizedpsychiatric information was obtained. Thirty-three adhd children werecompared with 75 borderline adhd children, 122 pathologicalcontrols, and 133 healthy controls. Adhd and borderline adhdchildren were slower and more variable in their processing speed on alltasks than children with no or other pathology. These differences weremost pronounced for the divided and focused attention tasks. Furthermore,one measure of a state regulation deficit discriminated between groups.with regard to accuracy, only the proportion of misses on a go–no-go task was higher in the adhd group than in the other groups. Evidence wasfound that adhd is better seen as a continuum rather than a discretecategory. Already at a young age, children at risk of adhd show specificinformation-processing deficits. Deficits in time perception and/orenergetic state control in children with adhd may possibly account forsubnormal task performance. (jins, 2005, 11,173–183.)