A contrast of hyperactive, learning disabled, and hyperactive‐learning disabled boys

Abstract When hyperactive‐learning disabled boys, normal achieving hyperactive boys and normally active learning disabled boys were contrasted separately on three classes of variables, psychosocial measures best separated the groups, with the greatest weight provided by parent ratings of aggressivity, experimenter ratings of home stimulation potential, and the child's ability to take another's perspective. A discriminant analysis combining all three classes of variables successfully classified 84% of the subjects. This result needs replication, but it appears hyperactive‐learning disabled children do constitute a valid subgroup. Although these doubly handicapped hyperactive‐LD subjects could not be significantly discriminated from the other two groups on WISC (cognitive) variables alone they had, as expected, below average scores on the ACID pattern (Swartz, 1974). But, on a laboratory task designed to elicit attentional deficits, the hyperactive‐LD subjects did not perform significantly worse overall than the other groups. Hyperactive‐LD subjects were much more difficult to find than solely hyperactive and solely learning disabled subjects.