Long-Term Episodic Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Twenty-nine grade-matched 4th–8th-grade males, 12 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (age M= 12.2 years, SD= 1.48), and 17 without (age M= 11.5, SD= 1.59), completed two working memory tasks (digit span and the Simon game) and three long-term episodic memory tasks (a personal event memory task, story memory task, and picture recognition task). In line with clinical observations, children with ADHD performed worse than peers on all working memory tasks, but performed as well as or better than peers on long-term episodic tasks, demonstrating particularly detailed memory for personally experienced past events. Participants' parents also completed questionnaires about their children's memories in daily life. Parents rated children with ADHD lower than children without ADHD on working and semantic memory (e.g., remembering names, spelling, and math), but rated them as high or higher on memory for events. Implications for theory and educational practice are discussed.

Department

Psychology

Publication Date

2-2008

Journal Title

Learning Disabilities: Research and Practice

Publisher

Wiley

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1111/j.1540-5826.2007.00260.x

Document Type

Article

Rights

2008 The Division for Learning Disablilities of the Council for Exceptional Children

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