This study examined group differences of 49 boys ages 6 to 11 years with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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In a sample of students referred to a school-based Pupil Assistance Committee, the Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity factors of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale-IV were used to predict diagnostic status, determined by a parent-reported diagnostic interview and teacher rating scale. Results of logistic regression and receiver operating curve analyses indicated that the Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity factors differentiated students with ADHD from controls and distinguished children with different ADHD subtypes. Symptom utility estimates demonstrated that a single informant approach was best suited for ruling out ADHD, whereas a combined informant method was optimal for positively diagnosing this disorder. Methods for determining the incremental utility of combining teacher with parent reports were demonstrated.Because students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) usually display significant levels of impairment in school, the provision of school-based services for these children is essential (DuPaul & Stoner, 1994). The importance of schoolbased programming for students with ADHD was affirmed dramatically in 1991 when a memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Education outlined the responsibilities of school officials in meeting the needs of students suspected of having ADHD (see Fowler, 1992). The need to establish school-based assessment and intervention programs for students with, or suspected of having, ADHD has been further highlighted by the recognition of the limitations of clinic-based models of care. Clinic-based professionals often cannot obtain naturalistic data about a child's functioning, whereas school personnel can readily collect a wealth of information about a child's functioning in diverse settings, including classroom, playground, and lunchroom (Atkins & Pelham, 1991). In addition, coordination of educational, health, and mental health services may be lacking in clinical settings that are not naturally linked to the community and can be achieved more readily in school-based mental health programs (Power, Atkins, Osborne, & Blum, 1994).

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Data are offered that examine the validity of the two-factor solution (Hyperactivity and Aggression) originally presented by Loney, Langhorne, and Paternite (1978) for symptom data from a sample of 135 hyperkinetic/minimal brain dysfunction (HK/MBD) boys. In contrast to the Loney et al. study, the present sample (TV = 90) consisted of consecutive male referrals to an outpatient child psychiatric service. Replication and further validation of the Hyperactivity and Aggression factors are examined through hierarchical multiple regression analyses performed on demographic data, mother and teacher rating scales, and observations made in two 15-minute playroom procedures (free play, restricted -academic). The results,' in general, support the validity of the differentiation of these two externalizing dimensions. The Hyperactivity factor made a unique contribution in accounting for the variance of numerous dependent variables, beyond the variance it shared with the Aggression factor. In contrast, the Aggression factor made a unique contribution to few of these variables. In no case was the information supplied by the two symptom factors completely redundant.Reviews of factor analytic studies of child psychopathology indicate that there is a consensus regarding two broad-band factors that can account for most of the behavioral disorders manifested by children (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1978;Quay, 1979). These two broad bands have been described in terms of Externalizing (i.e., undercontrolled, acting-out) and Internalizing (overcontrolled) behavior. However, attempts to define more narrow-band dimensions have produced inconsistent results. Childhood hyperactivity is an area in which these inconsistencies are perhaps most apparent. Some factor analytic studies have yielded combined Conduct Disorder and Hyperactivity factors, whereas other studies have produced separate factors. There are those who, ar-Portions of this paper were presented as part of a symposium, J. Loney (Chair), Childhood Hyperactivity: Issues Across the Ages, at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Montreal, September 1980.

This study was designed to compare the social communication patterns of attention-deficit-disordered (ADD) and normal boys. This was accomplished by employing a "TV Talk Show" social role-playing procedure in which the task required different strategies for the roles of "host" and "guest." Groups of ADD and normal elementary-age boys were formed, and each boy was paired with a normal class-mate. Measures of communication competence were coded from videotapes made of subject and partner social interactions while performing both roles. Results indicated that the ADD boys, in contrast to the control group, failed to modulate their social communication behaviors as task demands shifted. Additionally, the behavior of the ADD boys resulted in their normal partners' altering their response patterns in order to maintain the equilibrium in the dyadic interaction. These results suggest that the social behavior of ADD children is relatively independent of environmental requirements and may contribute to the inappropriate responding of others.

Traditional tactile cartography is complicated by problems associated with braille labeling and feature annotation. Audio-tactile display techniques can address many of these issues by associating spoken information and sounds with specific map elements. This article introduces Talking TMAP – a collaborative effort between The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and Touch Graphics, Inc. Talking TMAP combines existing tools such as the World Wide Web, geographic information systems, braille embossers and touch tablet technology in new ways to produce a system capable of creating detailed and accurate audio-tactile street maps of any neighborhood. The article describes software design, user interface and plans for future implementation.

Attention deficit and conduct disorders require an important yet often difficult differential diagnosis. Prior efforts to determine which symptoms are optimal for making this differential diagnosis have been limited by a reliance on statistics that do not supply the probability of the disorders given a symptom's presence (positive predictive power) or the probability that the disorder is not present given the absence of the symptom (negative predictive power). This investigation examined the utility of these latter statistics in the differential diagnosis of childhood attention deficit and conduct disorders. The data consisted of symptoms from a standardized maternal psychiatric interview collected for a sample of 76 clinic-referred boys. Results indicated that some symptoms are optimal as inclusion criteria, some as exclusion criteria, some as neither, and some as both. Furthermore, some symptoms that have been traditionally associated with the diagnosis of one disorder were actually found to be more useful in the diagnosis of the other disorder.