Are Intellectual Processes Important in the Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD?

Abstract

It is widely accepted that there are two sets of behaviors associated with the diagnosis of attention deficit described as ADHD Hyperactive–Impulsive (ADHD–H) and ADHD Inattentive (ADHD–I) types along with a combined type that includes both dimensions. In this article we suggest that these types of ADHD should be assessed using a variety of measures and procedures but that psychometrically sound measures of basic psychological processes must be included. Assessment of the basic psychological processes addresses issues such as the role of “executive functions” in ADHD–H, the selective attention problems of those with ADHD–I, differential diagnosis of children with ADHD–H and ADHD–I as well as those with learning disabilities, and educational and behavioral treatment planning. This discussion will include references to previously published research papers but should also serve as a stimulus for needed research. Essentially, we suggest that ADHD–H can be viewed as a failure of what we (see Naglieri & Das, 2005) call Planning processing and ADHD–I is a failure of Attention processing. This discussion will begin with an examination of the connections between conceptualizations of these types of attention deficit and a theory of intelligence based on cognitive processing.