Relationships between cognition and literacy in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Evidence suggests that cognitive and literacy difficulties are common for children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the relationship between cognition and literacy in children with ADHD. Ten thousand and thirty-eight articles were screened against the inclusion criteria and six eligible studies were retained for final review. Where two or more studies used comparable measures of cognition and literacy, a meta-analysis of the relationship between these measures was undertaken. A narrative synthesis of all included studies was also completed. There were medium effect sizes between working memory and aspects of reading, and small effect sizes between processing speed and reading. Inhibition and attention had differential relationships with aspects of literacy with varying effect sizes. This systematic review demonstrates differential relationships between aspects of literacy and cognition in children with ADHD. Further examination of these relationships is warranted to support intervention development.     

Executive functioning and its relation to ASD and ADHD symptomatology in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome*

Children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS; velo-cardio-facial-syndrome) are at risk for the developmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, the relation between executive functioning (EF) and the severity of ADHD and ASD symptoms is examined, since EF is known to be important in relation to emotional and behavioral problems. The participants consist of 58 children (38 females) with a mean age of 13.5 years (SD 2.6). Standardized assessment was used to evaluate the severity of ASD and ADHD symptomatology. The major aspects of EF, i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition, sustained attention, distractibility, working memory and reaction speed, were evaluated. The profile of EF in 22q11DS was found to be characterized by weaker performance compared to the norms on all subdomains of EF. Poor cognitive flexibility and inhibition, as well as high distractibility, were found to be related to more severe ASD symptoms, while poor quality of sustained attention and high distractibility were found to be related to more severe ADHD symptoms. It is concluded that children with 22q11DS experience impairments in EF, and that the degree of impairment on specific EF subdomains is related to the severity of ASD and/or ADHD symptomatology. These results may help in defining the mediating role of neurocognitive dysfunctions in the development of social and behavioral problems in 22q11DS.     

Memory loss versus memory distortion: The role of encoding and retrieval deficits in Korsakoff patients’ false memories

Recent studies with the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm have revealed that Korsakoff patients show reduced levels of false recognition and different patterns of false recall compared to controls. The present experiment examined whether this could be attributed to an encoding deficit, or rather to problems with explicitly retrieving thematic information at test. In a variation on the DRM paradigm, both patients and controls were presented with associative as well as categorised word lists, with the order of recall and recognition tests manipulated between-subjects. The results point to an important role for the automatic/controlled retrieval distinction: Korsakoff patients’ false memory was only diminished compared to controls’ when automatic or short-term memory processes could not be used to fulfil the task at hand. Hence, the patients’ explicit retrieval deficit appears to be crucial in explaining past and present data. Results are discussed in terms of fuzzy-trace and activation-monitoring theories.     

Learning,Attention, Writing,and Processing Speed in Typical Children and Children with ADHD,Autism, Anxiety,Depression, and Oppositional-Defiant Disorder

Learning, attention, graphomotor, and processing speed scores were analyzed in 149 typical control children and 886 clinical children with normal intelligence. Nonsignificant differences were found between control children and children with anxiety, depression, and oppositional-defiant disorder. Control children performed better than children with ADHD and autism in all areas. Children with ADHD and autism did not differ, except that children with ADHD had greater learning problems. Attention, graphomotor, and speed weaknesses were likely to coexist, the majority of children with autism and ADHD had weaknesses in all three areas, and these scores contributed significantly to the prediction of academic achievement.     

Transfer of learning between 2D and 3D sources during infancy: Informing theory and practice

The ability to transfer learning across contexts is an adaptive skill that develops rapidly during early childhood. Learning from television is a specific instance of transfer of learning between a two-dimensional (2D) representation and a three-dimensional (3D) object. Understanding the conditions under which young children might accomplish this particular kind of transfer is important because by 2 years of age 90% of US children are viewing television on a daily basis. Recent research shows that children can imitate actions presented on television using the corresponding real-world objects, but this same research also shows that children learn less from television than they do from live demonstrations until they are at least 3 years old; termed the video deficit effect. At present, there is no coherent theory to account for the video deficit effect; how learning is disrupted by this change in context is poorly understood. The aims of the present review are: (1) to review the conditions under which children transfer learning between 2D images and 3D objects during early childhood and (2) to integrate developmental theories of memory processing into the transfer of learning from media literature using Hayne’s (2004) developmental representational flexibility account. The review will conclude that studies on the transfer of learning between 2D and 3D sources have important theoretical implications for general developmental theories of cognitive development, and in particular the development of a flexible representational system, as well as policy implications for early education regarding the potential use and limitations of media as effective teaching tools during early childhood.     

ADHD儿童与正常儿童在视觉—动作方面的比较研究

10岁到13岁男性ADHD儿童在镶嵌图形、眼手协调、视力追踪和数字划销等视觉—动作实验上的分数显著低于同一年龄段的男性正常儿童,显示ADHD儿童的视觉—动作能力比正常儿童差.ADHD儿童与正常儿童相比,知觉方式的场独立性较弱,心理机能分化程度较低.ADHD儿童在长度估计实验上没有发现异常.     

强迫症患者反应抑制缺陷及注意的调节作用

使用内外源线索结合不同冲突水平的侧抑制任务,考察强迫症患者对分心刺激的抑制有无缺陷、注意定向对分心刺激的干扰效应有无调节作用及在何水平上发挥作用。结果表明:强迫症患者不同冲突水平的侧抑制任务均无明显反应抑制缺陷,可能与其注意威胁性信息等有关;集中注意在知觉冲突水平上对强迫症患者和正常人的反应冲突进行调节且无显著性差异,可能与强迫症患者关注内容非空间定向有关。     

DSM-IV Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms: Agreement Between Informants in Prevalence and Factor Structure at Different Ages

The agreement between teachers’ and parents’ ratings of the prevalence of DSM-IV attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and the concordance of the factor structure of ADHD symptoms was analyzed in a sample of 653 Spanish schoolchildren aged 4 to 12 divided into two age groups. The prevalence of ADHD symptoms ranged between 0.66 and 16.73% and was higher when the rater was the teacher. Agreement between parents and teachers was low. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) shows a slightly better fit for the three-factor model (Inattention, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity) than for the two-factor model (Inattention and Hyperactivity–impulsivity), except for parents’ ratings in the sample of children under six. CFA using a multitrait–multimethod model (CFA-MTMM) shows similar results.     

Training Children to Make Accurate Self-Evaluations: Effects on Behavior and the Quality of Self-Ratings

Research has shown that self-evaluation can have positive effects on children's behavior and academic performance. Components of self-evaluation that have not been fully examined include the accuracy and sensitivity of students' ratings before and after training, as well as the effects of accuracy training on performance. Four students exhibiting behavior consistent with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) participated in the study. The students' behavior during academic activities and accuracy of self-evaluations were examined before and after accuracy training in comparison to direct observations of behavior. None of the students accurately rated his behavior prior to training. Self-evaluation alone decreased disruptive behavior for only one student, whereas self-evaluation plus accuracy training decreased the disruptive behavior of all four students. Once accuracy training was withdrawn, the level of disruptive behavior increased for three of the four students. Implications of these results for the quality and utility of self-evaluation measures and the role of accuracy training in self-evaluation effects are discussed.