Attention deficits in children with 22q.11 deletion syndrome

This study examined attention abilities of children with 22q.11 deletion syndrome. Thirty children (14 males, 16 females; age range 7 to 13y) were given comprehensive neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric assessments. Learning disability was found in 13 children. Superiority in verbal over performance IQ was very common. Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (mainly of inattentive subtype) was diagnosed in 13 children. There appeared to be a relation between low IQ and presence of autism spectrum problems. The presence of attention deficits was clearly supported by the scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and the Conners Questionnaire. On the Becker attention tests the reaction times were significantly longer in the two visual and auditory tests, indicating that the ability to sustain attention is critically impaired in this group. A tendency of inferiority on auditory compared with visual tests was noted but there were no specific problems with the focus-execute aspect of attention.