Applied Neuropsychology: Child最新文献

This study aimed to differentiate "pure" cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-restrictive inattentive presentation (ADHD-RI) by examining their neurocognitive profiles and associations with autistic traits (ATs) and depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving three groups: pure CDS (n = 24), ADHD-RI (n = 32), and controls (n = 31). Participants underwent neuropsychological assessments using Computerized Neurocognitive Assessment Software (CNS) Vital Signs, alongside evaluations for ATs with the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, depressive symptoms with the Children's Depression Inventory, and CDS symptoms with the Barkley Child Attention Scale. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with all participants and their parents to ensure the diagnostic validity of the groups. Findings indicated no dimensional symptomatological distinctions between CDS and ADHD-RI, except for CDS symptoms, and demonstrated no significant differences in neurocognitive test profiles between CDS and ADHD-RI, except for the neurocognition index and reaction time. ATs and depressive symptoms did not significantly differ between the pure CDS and ADHD-RI groups but were significantly elevated in both groups compared to controls. The ADHD-RI group exhibited significantly worse performance than CDS concerning the neurocognition index and reaction time, and worse than controls regarding the neurocognition index, reaction time, psychomotor speed, and complex attention. This study elucidates that ADHD-RI and "pure" CDS have substantially overlapping neurocognitive and phenotypic profiles despite certain minor differences, which is detrimental to subjects with ADHD-RI in terms of overall neurocognition and reaction time. It can be argued that, compared to "pure" CDS, executive dysfunction might be slightly more specific to ADHD-RI, while depressive symptoms and ATs are common in both psychological constructs.

Learning disabilities (LD) affect a significant portion of the global population, presenting tremendous emotional, social, and academic challenges. The multifaceted nature of LD necessitates early and objective identification focusing on educational and cognitive factors. This survey systematically reviews pen-paper and technology-based approaches for identifying LD, employing the PRISMA protocol to ensure a comprehensive and rigorous meta-analysis. A total of 3,783 papers were initially identified during the search process, of which 160 articles met the inclusion criteria. The study explores the various aspects of the identification and intervention of LD, intending to reduce long-term impacts. The essential skills required to recognize different types of LD were identified and classified, underscoring the importance of a set of fundamental skills for accurate differentiation. In addition, this research underscores the importance of objective assessments by integrating emerging technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, which improves the precision and efficiency of LD identification. The paper also discusses the critical role of early LD identification and addresses associated challenges. It advocates for a comprehensive approach through interdisciplinary collaboration and systemic reforms, ultimately promoting greater inclusivity and equity in education and society.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of narrative-based language intervention (NBLI) on narrative retell of Persian-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eleven children with ASD aged 5 to 7 years old participated in this study. All participants attended NBLI sessions individually three times a week. In this procedure a set of steps that target microstructure and macrostructure components were used for retelling narratives. An illustrated storybook and icon cards were presented to the children. In a pre- and post-test design, results were assessed in three phases before intervention, immediately after intervention and as a follow-up two weeks after intervention. At the level of microstructure, the results showed that there were significant improvement in productivity (number of total words and total clauses) and syntactic complexity (average of T-unit length and subordination index) immediately after intervention. At the level of macrostructure, there was also improvement in total score of story grammar elements immediately after intervention. All these learning outcomes were maintained two weeks after intervention. In conclusion, NBLI can be effective in improving the microstructure and macrostructure components of spoken narrative in children with ASD.

Neurocognitive deficits commonly occur following hemorrhagic stroke in childhood, yet the understanding of recovery patterns and prognostic factors remains limited. Hematoma location, lateralization, volume, and age at injury have been identified as predictors of neurocognitive outcomes. This case review aims to describe and discuss the influence of these factors on neurocognitive outcomes following hemorrhagic stroke in three pediatric cases. Three patients (one female age 13, two males ages 15 and 17) with a history of childhood hemorrhage were selected from a larger cohort due to their similar etiology (i.e., arteriovenous malformation) and similar lesion location (i.e., broadly within the temporoparietal region). Participants completed a neuropsychological assessment evaluating verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, language, learning, memory, and executive functioning. Results suggest variable language outcomes despite similar clinical characteristics. Both Case 1 and Case 2, who had medium-sized hematomas, exhibited challenges with verbal learning, verbal memory, word finding, and word generation. In contrast, Case 3, who had a small-sized hematoma, showed broadly preserved verbal abilities. All three cases exhibited challenges on at least one measure of executive functioning. The distinct performance of the three cases highlights the complexity of predicting neurocognitive abilities following childhood left hemisphere hemorrhagic stroke. The finding that all cases exhibited executive functioning deficits suggests an area of vulnerability in this population. Clinical implications include the importance of close monitoring and follow-up through comprehensive neuropsychological assessment in this population.

Exposure to early socioeconomic disadvantage impacts the development of working memory, a component of executive functions underlying engagement in risky behaviors including substance misuse. Given that working memory develops across adolescence, coinciding with increases in the onset and rapid escalation of substance use and other risky behaviors, interventions designed to improve working memory may have promise for supporting behavioral health for youth from low-resource areas. However most working memory programs have been developed for adults from higher-resource contexts and may not be feasible for youth from socioeconomically distressed communities. The current study (n = 23) uses a mixed methods approach to evaluate the implementation potential and preliminary effectiveness of a computer-based working memory training program among youth ages 12 to 16 from a very low-resource community. Participants (48% female; 100% Black) were administered tests of working memory before and after completing a working memory program or a control computer program. Results suggest youth in the active condition found the intervention to be acceptable, appropriate and enjoyable and evidenced statistically significant increases in working memory. No improvement was seen among youth in the comparison condition. Findings suggest preliminary support for implementation of this program in an impoverished urban setting.

The aim was to investigate the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and emotional behavioral problems, with focus on studying the mediating effect of executive function. A total of 240 children with ADHD aged 6-10 years old participated. They all met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition. SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical analysis. Mean interpolation was used to interpolate missing values of a small number of questionnaire items. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used for correlation between variables. The results of this study showed that inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity scores of children with ADHD were positively correlated with the scores of emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs), that is, the more severe the attention deficit and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms were, the more severe the EBPs were. The hyperactivity-impulsivity score of children with ADHD positively predicted their behavioral regulation index (BMI) and metacognition index (MI) scores. The BMI score positively predicted the emotional and behavioral problem scores of children with ADHD, while the MI score had no statistically significant predictive effect on the emotional and behavioral problem scores of children with ADHD. These findings suggest that interventions targeting executive function-particularly behavioral regulation-may help mitigate emotional and behavioral difficulties in children with ADHD.

Dyslexia is associated with difficulty in mastering reading and writing, but also with poor performance in several motor tasks. Therefore, this study examined the effects of an intervention program involving sensorimotor and cognitive engagement on the reading performance and eye movements of children with dyslexia. Eleven dyslexic children (10.7 ± 1.7 years old) read texts displayed in an iPad, wearing an eye-tracking system. Total reading time, fixation, and saccades were obtained during reading. The children also performed manual coordination (9-hole peg) and agility (squared test) tests. After a 2-month enrollment in an intervention motor skill program, with 60-min sessions, twice a week, associated with cognitive challenge, the children performed the reading and motor tests again. Results showed that children enjoyed and engaged the program activities, and total reading time decreased, associated also to fixation duration decreasing. No difference was observed for the manual coordination and agility tests. These results suggest that an intervention program comprising a combination of sensory-motor and cognitive engagement of dyslexic children improves their reading performance and such improvement is related to eye movement changes.

This study investigates the predictive effect childhood abuse on aggression of adolescents with ADHD, focusing on the mediating role of Executive function. Random sampling was used to select adolescents from five schools in Baltim City, Egypt from January to April 2024 as the research subjects. A total of 180 participants aged 12-15 years (mean= 13.10 and SD = 4.56) were included in the analyses. Questionnaires were used to collect data. This study mainly explored the relationship between childhood abuse, executive function, and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior among adolescents. The results of comparing the scores of the top 27% and the bottom 27% of childhood abuse experience showed that the reactive, proactive aggression, and executive dysfunction questionnaire scores of the high childhood abuse group were higher than those of the low childhood abuse group.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a collective name for lifelong physical and neurodevelopmental problems caused by the gestational consumption of alcohol affecting fetal development. In Brazil, the lack of awareness among healthcare professionals, and the scarcity of suitable diagnostic tools and trained clinicians, can contribute to the underestimation of FASD prevalence and severity. The present review aims to map and analyze studies conducted in Brazil on children and adolescents with FASD or a history of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Additionally, it intends to report the psychometric properties of the neurodevelopmental assessment tools applied in the selected articles. Searches were carried out in the databases Scielo, LILACS, PePSIC, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, selecting original clinical studies that have investigated the neurodevelopment of this population. From a total of 175 studies, ten articles fit the inclusion criteria in which 18 instruments were identified. The most reported deficits were related to language, general intelligence quotient (IQ), adaptive behavior, attention, and visual perception. Our results point to the need for more clinical research on FASD in Brazil, as well as for the standardization and validation of neurodevelopmental assessment tools for the accurate diagnosis of FASD in Brazil.

This study reviews the crucial role of language in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis and assessment in Saudi Arabia. Using tailored search strings, 206 relevant documents were retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. An increasing trend in ASD research in Saudi Arabia was observed through temporal analysis. Keyword analysis identified key themes including "autism," "language," "assessment," "diagnosis," "Saudi Arabia," and "children." The focus of research has shifted over the years, from pure clinical and diagnostic aspects to a more comprehensive approach that includes language and cultural factors in ASD evaluation. The findings underscore the need for culturally and linguistically sensitive assessment tools, acknowledging the impact of bilingualism on language development, and the importance of language difficulties in diagnostic decision-making. The study highlights the necessity for further research, especially longitudinal studies examining the influence of language and cultural factors on ASD outcomes. The findings are significant for clinical practice, emphasizing the need for linguistically sensitive approaches in ASD diagnosis and assessment. This research serves as a guide for future studies by identifying the gaps in existing literature and areas of focus. The study identifies crucial gaps in existing literature, particularly the need for longitudinal studies examining the influence of language and cultural factors on ASD outcomes. The findings underscore the importance of culturally and linguistically sensitive approaches in ASD diagnosis and assessment, providing a novel insight for future research and clinical practice in Saudi Arabia.