Mar. 27, 2009 Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) show more variable or inconsistent responses
during on ‘working’ or short-term memory tasks when compared
with typically developing peers, a study by UC Davis M.I.N.D.
Institute Julie Schweitzer has found. “We think poor working
memory is a characteristic present in many children and adults
with ADHD,” said Schweitzer, an associate professor in the
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. “Our study
helps explain why working memory may be fine at one moment and
poor at another, just as one day a child with ADHD seems to be
able to learn and focus in class and on another day seems
distracted and not paying attention,” Schweitzer said. According
to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), an estimated 4.4 million youth, ages 4 to17, have been
diagnosed with ADHD by a healthcare professional. In 2003 nearly
8 percent of school-aged children were reported to have an ADHD
diagnosis by their parent. The curren