Neuropsychological assessment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Neuropsychological assessment of children with ADHD is reviewed in the light of recent research and clinical practice. Traditional psychometric approaches may fail to reveal deficiencies in such children and performance levels have to be considered with care due to the potential confounding effects of attention deficit. Examination of qualitative features of performance and extension of the the range of assessment instruments to include those more sensitive to frontal systems dysfunction are proposed. The distinction between ADHD and specific learning disorders on the basis of neuropsychological assessment and the application in educational management is discussed.