An analysis of score patterns of children with attention disorders on the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the score patterns of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) and to determine whether their score patterns differ significantly from those of children without ADHD. In this retrospective study, the score patterns of 309 children with ADHD were compared with a group of 309 children without ADHD. The children were matched by norm group (reflecting age), gender, and the presence or absence of a learning disability. Both descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques were used. Subjects with ADHD demonstrated relative strengths in the areas of nonmotor visual perception and localization of tactile input and weaknesses with vestibular processing and in most areas of praxis or motor planning. Certain SIPT scores of subjects with ADHD were found to differ significantly from those of subjects without ADHD. The SIPT test that best discriminated the two groups was Space Visualization. The results suggest that it may be helpful for therapists to consider the areas of praxis and vestibular processing in the evaluation and treatment of children with ADHD and that in clinical practice, it would be difficult to distinguish children with ADHD from those without on the basis of their SIPT scores. However, the ways in which the SIPT score patterns of children with ADHD differed from those without assist our understanding of the brain areas and neurological systems involved in children with ADHD.