Is there a developmental gap in visual search for children with reported attention problems?

Abstract

We report an analysis of developmental patterns in visual search for 6 to 12-year-old children. A typically developing sample of 1442 children is compared with two samples (N = 1160 and N = 947) of children with teacher-reported attentional problems. Inclusion criteria for these two groups are low academic achievement and probable attention problems as the reason for the low achievement. The three groups completed DiViSA, a computerized visual search test. Obtained data show two patterns of visual search development. Children with teacher-reported attentional problems show hastiness, inaccuracy and slowness. Children with attention problems perform as if they were younger, in terms of visual search. Data show a performance lag in visual search of about two to three years at every tested grade for the children with attentional difficulties. However the development patterns of children with and without attention problems are parallel, showing improvement with age in both groups.