Visual Perception of Students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

This chapter aimed to characterize and compare the viso-motor perception of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and students with good academic performance. Methods: Forty male students (100%) from the 2nd to the 5th grades of an elementary public school, aged between 7 to 10 years and 8 months old participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: GI (20 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and GII (20 students with good academic performance), paired according to age, grade level, and gender. The students were submitted to the Developmental Test of Visual Perception. Results: Students of GI presented inferior performance in spatial position and visual closure (reduced motor) when compared to GII and performance equivalent to lower age students in reduced motor perception. Conclusion: The difficulties in viso-motor perception presented by students of GI cannot be attributed to a primary deficit, but to a secondary phenomenon of inattention that directly interferes in their viso-motor performance.

Keywords: Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Evaluation, Visual perception, Motor skills.