Abstract

Chapter 6 reviews the test batteries and a multitude of specific tasks that measure attention at the cognitive level. The relative insensitivity of standardized tasks to tap subtle variations in cognitive abilities is highlighted and the need for more sensitive experimental paradigms is stressed. This chapter also emphasizes the importance of incorporating age- and ability-appropriate tasks to assess subtle attention trajectories across age in typical and atypically developing populations. The authors warn about the diagnostic weakness of some attention paradigms that involve complex EF processing, making it difficult to identify whether the source of any impairment is due to a problem in a specific component or whether it is a more general EF weakness. In developmental research, the increased use of experimentally driven paradigms has begun to produce a much-needed understanding of atypical trajectories of attention. Developmentally sensitive paradigms must be further developed that can be used across a range of neurodevelopmental disorders to facilitate cross-syndrome analysis of attention performance.