VALIDITY OF THE AUDITORY CONTINUOUS PERFORMANCE-TEST IN DIFFERENTIATING CENTRAL PROCESSING AUDITORY DISORDERS WITH AND WITHOUT ADHD

The use of continuous performance tasks has been examined as a potenti al measure for clinical/laboratory identification of Attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder. The present study compared the performance of 30 children, 26 boys and 4 girls ranging in age from 9-0 to 12-11, wi th central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) who did not meet crite ria for coexisting ADHD with the performance of children with CAPD coe xisting with ADHD (CAPD/ADHD) on the Auditory Continuous Performance T est (ACPT). In interpreting the results, the variability as well as th e actual counts for correct responses and total errors were considered . Results indicated limited potential for the use of the ACPT in the d ifferential diagnosis of ADHD. Implications of the results as well as considerations for future research are discussed.