Investigation of a direct intervention for improving attention in young children with ADHD

The efficacy of a new set of child-oriented direct intervention materials, Pay Attention!(1994), was investigated in 14 children, ages 7 to 11 years, diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Treatment and control groups were matched for age, sex, and medication status. Both groups completed pre- and posttraining assessment batteries that included psychometric measures of attention, a measure of academic efficiency, and behavioral rating scales completed by parents and teachers. Results indicate that children who received the direct intervention did significantly better on a number of nontrained measures of attention and academic efficiency. Behavioral ratings of inattention-impulsivity and hyperactivity completed by parents did not differ following treatment, although a marginally significant improvement in inattention-impulsivity was noted by school teachers. These results suggest that direct interventions aimed at improving attention may be a valuable treatment option for improving cognitive efficiency in children with ADHD and warrant further investigation.