Memory for object locations in boys with and without ADHD.

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).