Objective: To determine whether 7- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD, relative to non-ADHD age-mates, exhibit greater difficulty learning and remembering object locations. The second purpose was to examine the functional utility of mnemonic strategies, specifically speech-to-self, used by boys with and without ADHD. Method: Boys with and without ADHD were videotaped while completing a well-established, laboratory-based object location learning and memory task. Results: Boys with ADHD evinced a deficit while learning the location of objects and employed less sophisticated forms of private speech during the memory task. Conclusion: These findings reveal details about the utility of private speech during spatial working memory performance and further a theoretical understanding of ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2010; 13(5) 505-515)
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