A classroom rating scale for use with mentally handicapped children: a replication of the ADIECAS

The Attention/Distraction: Inhibition/Excitation Classroom Assessment Scale (Evans, 1975; Evans & Hogg, 1984) was administered to 80 children with severe learning difficulties with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and subscales of the British Ability Scales (BAS). Factor analysis replicated the Attention/Distraction scale but the Inhibition/Excitation scale split into a verbal component and the remaining items. A new factor named responsivity to consequences was identified. Attention/Distraction showed good concurrent validity with the BAS and PPVT. This study shows the robustness of the Attention/Distraction: Inhibition/Excitation Classroom Assessment Scale as a measure of individual differences in children with severe learning difficulties.