ADHD and brain research connections

¶ … surpassing acquisition rate (AR) of children with learning disabilities results in a deleterious increase in off task behavior. When the child arrives at their personal AR for a particular exercise, the off task behaviors begin to increase. This increase suggests that the learning process is being compromised, as the student is unable to make the most efficient use of the learning time. While this problem occurs in all children, it is more acute in children with learning disabilities.

The researchers chose a sample of five, 9 and 10-year-old Caucasian children from the elementary schools in the Michigan area. Using the Michigan criteria for specific disability, the students were identified as having a learning disability in reading skills. The students ARs were assessed prior to the start of the study using procedures developed by Burns (2001), (cited in Burns and Dean 2005). This involved introducing the child to new words until the child made three consecutive errors in recalling the words. The point at which the errors were made was identified as the AR.

To identify off task behaviors the researchers used three graduate students trained in observation. The students in the sample were observed, the point at which the eyes or the head of the student was no longer turned toward the material they were learning was selected as an off task behavior. For a behavior to be deemed as off task at least two of the three observers had to agree that it was, off task. The elementary school students were taught pre-selected words from the Esperanto International Language. The study occurred over a three-week period where the students were seen individually once a week. The words were written on a card and its English pronunciation voiced for the student to memorize.

The researchers determined that while each student had a different AR. The off task behaviors was linked to the AR, the off task behavior for each child increased immediately upon the child reaching their previously determined AR. The mean off task behavior after the AR was reached was higher for each child. For the first student the mean off task behavior before the AR was reached was zero off tasks per minute while after it was one off task per minute. All the students followed a similar pattern.

The AR of some the students were identified as two or three. This result suggests that it may be necessary to reduce the quantum of information being introduced to children with learning disabilities. While the teacher may be desirous of imparting more information than the net, effect may be negative. The student begins to lose attention and wander mentally after their AR is reached. Students with learning disabilities experience this effect more profoundly (Barron, Evans, Baranik, Serpell, & Buvinger, 2006). Therefore, the present practice of introducing multiple new elements within the teaching module may require modification to address this concern.