The role of memory problems in the attentional difficulties of learning disabled children is examined, and the existence of control processing inefficiencies related to memory problems is suggested. Three intervention approaches--reinforcement programs, direct instruction in efficient processing behaviors, and use of orienting tasks to induce…

An experimental group of college students were taught and asked to practice actualism meditation techniques before studying and before examinations. Controls were taught the techniques but asked to practice at other times. The groups did not differ in mean study time, but the experimental group performed significantly better on examinations.…

The aim of this paper was to study the phenomenon of joint visual attention between human infants and adults. (Author/DB)

Questions the extent to which attention differentially affects different parts of language and how this differential effect interacts with increased linguistic knowledge. Subjects were native English speaking learners of Italian. (Author/VWL)

This study investigated whether attention to either physical or social entities is linked to autistic development. Comparison of 15 children with autism with normally developing children matched for mental age found a strong correlation between joint attention and set-shifting in typically developing children but not those with autism. (Contains…

Two studies investigated the maintenance of focused attention in the first five years of life. Findings revealed changes over age in the way children concentrate and sustain attention spontaneously during free play. Results point to possible developments underlying the increasing duration of focused attention. (RH)

The study compared the attention-directing behaviors of 15 autistic children, 14 children with developmental language delay, and 13 young normal children. Although the autistic children's behavior was most unlike that of the other groups, autistic children did not produce more attention-directing behavior when a high degree of adult direction was…

Measured covert shifts of visual attention of observers aged 6, 8, and 20 years in a speeded classification task. There were differences between children's and adults' attention orientation, target processing, and use of predictability in cues. (SAK)

This study examined effects of cue control and behavioral relaxation training (BRT) with five subjects having severe mental retardation. BRT produced reductions in rated anxiety and improvements in concentration for all subjects. Cue control words were effective only after they had been linked with BRT. (DB)

Negative priming was assessed to investigate what information persons with (n=18) or without (n=18) mental retardation access from distractors. All subjects showed automatic activation of both targets and distractors at a short time interval. After a long interval, only the subjects without mental retardation exhibited inhibition of the…

Investigated relationships between language acquisition and temperamental attentional control and positive affectivity in toddlers. Found that language development was associated positively with adaptability and soothability, mood and smiling/laughter, and persistence and duration of orientation. Findings suggest that temperament may influence…

Both the speed and accuracy of responding are important measures of performance. A well-known interpretive difficulty is that participants may differ in their strategy, trading speed for accuracy, with no change in underlying competence. Another difficulty arises when participants respond slowly and inaccurately (rather than quickly but…

The effects on child engagement of adult use of systematic, naturalistic instructional strategies within an embedded instruction context were examined. Following baseline observations of two children with disabilities and same-age classmates without disabilities, three different instructional strategies were implemented with each child with a…

One hundred eighteen middle school students from three different settings listened individually to a music excerpt and a prose excerpt that were each 3.5 minutes long. As they listened, they clicked a computer touchpad whenever they were distracted either by thoughts or external events, then refocused on the holistic listening task. After…

Objective: To describe the rationale, methodology, and sample characteristics of a dual-site treatment study (New York and Montreal) of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) conducted between 1990 and 1995. The hypotheses were that (1) methylphenidate combined with comprehensive multimodal psychosocial treatment was…