Deficits in long-term memory are not characteristic of ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

To separate the influence of inattentiveness from memory, we examined savings scores on material previously learned in 53 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 63 with a reading disability (RD), 63 with both ADHD and RD combined, and 112 controls. Children with reading disabilities were impaired in their ability to remember previously-learned material unless it was repeated over four trials, whereas children with only ADHD performed as well as the controls for material presented only once. Children with ADHD did perform poorly on three subtests that are sensitive to attention/ concentration. We conclude that ADHD is associated with impaired initial learning due to attention deficits, but that long-term retention of learned material is normal.