Delayed memory in ADHD children

Abstract

Introduction

It is known that children with ADHD have deficit in cognitive abilities. However there are different opinions about the nature of this deficit. It is necessary to conduct researchers for revealing specific profile of impairments in different cognitive domains in ADHD children to better understanding the nature of this disorder.

Aims

The aim of this research was to examine the hypothesis that children with ADHD have a specific deficit in memory – weakness in delayed memory.

Methods

The experimental group included 15 Russian-speaking children with ADHD at age 7–8 years. The control group included 15 typically developing children. The children from experimental and control group were matched for IQ, gender and age. Children from both groups were assessed with NEPSY using memory for names subtest. This subtest is designed to assess the ability to learn the names of children in immediate and delayed conditions. Two-way ANOVA was used to reveal group differences in reproducing the names in two conditions.

Results

We have not revealed significant differences between children from experimental and control group in the reproducing the names in immediate condition.

However, the interaction of condition type and group was significant (P ≤ 0.05). ADHD children were less successful in reproducing the names in delayed condition.

Conclusions

In view of the obtained results, it can be assumed that children with ADHD have specific deficit in memory domain – weakness in delayed memory. It is necessary to confirm this result using different memory tasks.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.