Clinical differentiation of the attention deficit disorder subtypes: do sensorimotor deficits characterize children with ADD/WO?

Previous researchers found that children with Attention Deficit Disorder Without Hyperactivity (ADD/WO) tended to perform more poorly than children with Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity (ADD/H) on measures of motor and sensory functions. In the present study, a prototype sensorimotor soft sign battery was developed which limited cognitive involvement. It was hypothesized that ADD/WO children would exhibit a greater number of soft signs than ADD/H children who in turn would show more soft signs than normal children. Participants were 31 children ranging in age from 72 to 144 months. The SNAP checklist (Pelham & Murphy, 1981) was used in arriving at an experimental diagnosis. No differences were found between the ADD/WO and normal groups. The ADD/H group exhibited more soft signs than the normal group at all ages and more than the ADD/WO group above 96 months of age.