Perception of nonverbal social cues by regular education, ADHD, and ADHD/LD students

Abstract

The current study examined the ability of children diagnosed as having Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) with and without a learning disability to perceive nonverbal social cues in comparison to their non-ADHD peers. In addition, teacher ratings of students' social perceptions were obtained. Participants in the study were 45 students between the ages of seven and ten years who were identified as 1) ADHD only, 2) ADHD with a learning disability (ADHD/LD), and 3) a control group with no diagnosis. The Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy(DANVA) and the Social Perception Behavior Rating Scale(SPBRS) were used to measure social perceptions. The DANVA was administered twice to each child in the ADHD and ADHD/LD groups: once while the ADHD and ADHD/LD participants were on medication and once off medication. The ADHD/LD group demonstrated significant difficulty in comparison to their peers in perceiving paralanguage cues effectively. The ADHD/LD group also showed significant improvement on the Postures and Paralanguage subtests during on-medication conditions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.