This study investigated how assistive reading software affected the reading performance of a group of 20 post-secondary students who had a primary diagnosis of attention disorder. These students used assistive reading software for most of a semester to read assignments for an English class and in testing sessions in which comparisons were made between normal, unassisted reading, and reading assisted by the soft-243 244 THEORY-BASED PRACTICE ware. This software provides a synchronized visual and auditory presentation of text, and incorporates study skills tools for highlighting and note taking. Attention measures, reading speed, comprehension scores, and attitude questionnaire responses were obtained during these sessions. The principal findings were that the assistive software allowed the students to attend better to their reading, to reduce their distractibility, to read with less stress and fatigue, and to read for longer periods of time. It helped them to read faster and, thereby, to complete reading assignments in less time. It did not have a significant effect on comprehension, but it helped some students whose comprehension was very poor. The study results indicate that assistive reading software should be considered as a significant intervention to assist students who have attention disorders and as an accommodation to help them compensate for their disabilities.

In previous studies, children with both Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a Reading Disorder were found to have more difficulties with processing speed, working memory, and timed as opposed to non-timed executive functioning (EF) measures when compared with those with either disorder alone. The current study found that older adolescents and adults with both disorders also had more difficulties on processing speed and working memory measures than individuals who only had ADHD. There were no differences among non-timed EF scores. These results add support to the premise that common underlying features may be contributing to the high co-morbidity between these disorders and associated cognitive weaknesses.

A comparison was made between adults with depression and with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on a battery of cognitive tests of attention span and memory. Both the ADHD and depression groups were subdivided with regard to comorbid depression in the ADHD group and developmental learning disorder in both groups. Utilizing Discriminant Function Analysis, it was found that variables derived from the California Verbal Learning Test, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, and the Stroop Test discriminated among the various subgroups at a level significantly exceeding chance. However, although the great majority of the ADHD participants were correctly classified, there were numerous misclassifications among the depressed groups. It was concluded that the tests used were highly sensitive to ADHD, but were also sensitive to a subgroup of depressed individuals.

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