Please contact Kate Cain for a copy of this paper.Inattention, hyperactivity and pragmatic language skills page 2 AbstractChildren with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience pragmatic language deficits, but it is not known whether these difficulties are primarily associated with high levels of inattention, hyperactivity, or both. We investigated pragmatic aspects of communication and language comprehension in relation to poor attention and/or high hyperactivity in a nondiagnosed population of 7-11-year-olds. Classroom teachers rated their pupils' attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity on the ADD-H Comprehensive TeacherRating Scale (ACTeRS). The three groups were formed: children with poor attention and low hyperactivity (poor attention group), children with good attention and high hyperactivity (high hyperactivity group), children with both poor attention and high hyperactivity (poor attention/high hyperactivity group). Their performance was compared with that of same-age controls in two studies: Study One (N=94) investigated the comprehension of figurative language in and out of context; Study Two (N=100) investigated pragmatic aspects of communication using the Children's Communication Checklist -Second Edition.Two groups, the poor attention and the poor attention/high hyperactivity groups, were impaired in both their comprehension of figurative language and their communication skills.The high hyperactivity group was impaired in their comprehension of figurative language but they did not exhibit communication impairments. The findings extend work with clinical populations of children with ADHD: Even in a nondiagnosed sample of children, poor attention and elevated levels of hyperactivity are associated with pragmatic language weaknesses.Inattention, hyperactivity and pragmatic language skills page 3 Pragmatic aspects of communication and language comprehension in groups of children differentiated by teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivityPragmatics is defined as how language is used to convey meaning (e.g. Adams, 2002).Pragmatic language difficulties are specific to the use and comprehension of language in context, rather than problems with semantic or structural aspects of language. Difficulties in language use include poor turn taking and an inability to stay on topic in conversation; difficulties in language comprehension include a tendency to interpret figurative language literally. We report an investigation of these two aspects of pragmatic language in groups of 7-11-year-olds differentiated by teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity.ADHD is a behavioural disorder, in which individuals exhibit levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that are inappropriate for their age (DSM-IV, AmericanPsychiatric Association, 1994). DSM-IV distinguishes between the inattentive and hyperactivity/impulsivity elements of the disorder, which may occur together or separately, resulting in three subtypes: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive,...

These results indicate that the reading comprehension problems of children with attention difficulties are related to poor word reading and that listening comprehension is particularly vulnerable in children at risk of ADHD.

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Three-dimensional multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) have the potential to provide experiential learning qualitatively similar to that found in the real world. MUVEs offer a pedagogically-driven immersive learning opportunity for educationalists that is cost-effective and enjoyable. A family of digital virtual avatars was created within Second Life® to investigate the implementation of a problembased learning (PBL) task. The consensus among tertiary level educators was that the experience provided more immersion and engagement than traditional methods of technological provision, leading to potentially increased depth of learning. PBL appears to be an effective tool for aiding learning within immersive three-dimensional MUVEs.

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