| Abstract [eng] |
Memory in Preschool Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) SUMMARY Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has attracted a large amount of research interest in recent years. Symptoms of ADHD diagnosed in the early years of preschool and understanding of cognitive functions peculiarities can help to diagnose children with ADHD and secure children against this disorder. The purpose of the research was to compare memory peculiarities (visual short-term memory, conscious recollection and auditory memory) in children with and without ADHD. Thus far, the researches in ADHD domain have not focused on memory in preschool children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There are no studies examining memory in a similar context, focusing on memory in ADHD. Suggestions are made for future research that might differentiate ADHD, analyzing peculiarities of preschoolers’ memory. The research has been conducted on 49 children. All the children were aged between 32 and 74 months. Three tasks were used to assess memory. Analyzing visual short-term memory the methodology to memorize pictures was used (Nemov, 1995; Luszcz, Bacharach, 1980; Brown, Scott, 1971). In order to assess the peculiarities of storage and recollection of information the children were asked to memorize the poem (Politika, 2006). To assess auditory memory the children were asked to follow sequence order (Admur, Mainland, Parker, 1984). The items of the CBCL for ages 1 to 5 (CBCL/1 ½ -5) and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF/1 ½ -5; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) were used to sort out children with ADHD. The children were placed into the experimental group using clinical interview method. The findings from our research have shown that preschoolers with ADHD, compared to controls, exhibit visual short-term memory deficits. Children with ADHD perform more poorly on measures of visual short-term memory. Their memory consists of five information units whereas the memory of controls consists of seven information units. Furthermore, the research showed that children diagnosed with ADHD, compared to controls, present with difficulties in reproducing visual information, repeating poetical words, recalling rules and carrying out task instructions. |
