Comparison of Attention Control and Distraction between Students with and without Learning Impairment

Attention deficit is one of the core elements of learning disorder. Aimed at studying attention deficit, this paper compares attention control and distraction in students with and without learning impairments. Three groups of students with learning impairments (one group of 15 with dyslexiadysgraphia, another group of 15 with dyscalculia, and yet another group of 15 with mixed disorder) were randomly selected out of students enrolled in centers for learning impairments supervised by regional office of Ministry of Education in Uremia. A forth group of 15 normal students was also randomly selected. The study followed a causal-comparative research design. The diagnosis of type of learning impairment for each student was checked using structured clinical interviews, and the students were then asked to complete the attention control and effortful control questionnaires (the distraction-persistence subscale). The data were analyzed using one way ANOVA, MANOVA and the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test. The results showed significant differences between the groups’ mean test score in attention focus, attention control and level of distraction. The result of the LSD test showed that the main difference existed between the group of normal students and the other three groups, whose members were children with learning disorders. In other words, no significant difference existed in the three groups themselves. The results reveal that, compared to normal children, students with learning impairments have far less attention control and far more distractibility. Furthermore children with different types of learning impairments are homogeneous in terms of attention control and distractibility.