Metacognitive knowledge of attention in children with and without ADHD symptoms.
ADHD kids know when they drift off, but struggle with posture and materials — use their drawings to guide targeted classroom supports.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked 5-11 year olds to draw pictures showing how they pay attention.
Some kids had ADHD. Some did not.
The drawings became a window into their attention awareness.
What they found
Both groups knew when their mind wandered.
But ADHD kids drew themselves with worse posture and messy desks.
They also showed more negative feelings about paying attention.
How this fits with other research
McGarty et al. (2018) found autistic adults track their own accuracy just fine.
Wojcik et al. (2014) showed autistic teens can judge their learning.
These studies line up with Sara et al. — metacognitive awareness stays intact across ADHD and autism.
Lim et al. (2008) used drawings too, but for communication skills in Asperger's.
Together they show drawings reveal real-world gaps, not just test scores.
Why it matters
You can use simple drawing tasks to spot which ADHD students need help with posture and materials.
Then add structured supports like desk checklists or chair bands.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) experience difficulty in managing attention in school, but it is not sufficiently clear what their attentional beliefs are. Drawing is a means of expression that is habitually used to access knowledge or ideas of children regarding their classroom experience. The aim of this study is to verify whether children with ADHD use pictorial indicators analogous to children without ADHD (N-ADHD). 92 primary school students participated in this study, half of whom diagnosed with ADHD. Children were asked to produce two specific thematic drawings on attention vs. inattention; their pictorial representations were analyzed using the Children's Awareness of Attention through Drawing (CAAD). The analysis showed principally that children with ADHD have a metacognitive awareness of attention similar to N-ADHD except for a delay in acquisition of the correct posture, for less maturation in the management of school materials and greater expression of negative feelings over time. Children with ADHD are aware of what is required in the school context but they are not able to pursue it. Behavioral intervention and structured learning are two targets of intervention that can help children with ADHD to adapt and to stay at school.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.08.005