Neuropsychologic characteristics of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorder, and tic disorder on the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure.

This study examined the performance of Korean children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorder, ADHD with learning disorder, and tic disorder on the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure. The clinical group consisted of 57 children between the ages of 6 and 13 years (15 with ADHD, 13 with learning disorder, 15 with ADHD + learning disorder, and 15 with tic disorder), and the control group included 20 children recruited from an elementary school. Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure productions were scored according to the Developmental Scoring System. The children in the control group showed a clear developmental trend--organization score increasing with age--that was similar to the performance of American children. No such age-related effect was found in the three clinical groups. The organization scores of the children with ADHD were lower than those of other groups, suggesting an organizational deficit in ADHD. Performance on the immediate recall condition was poorest in the tic disorder and ADHD + learning disorder groups, suggesting the presence of nonverbal memory problems in those groups.