Attentional and cognitive profiles of youth with neurodevelopmental disorders: Comparisons among children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

• Main Author: Telma Rún Ingadóttir 1996-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Sálfræði; Gerðar; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44654

Few studies have been conducted to examine executive functioning and cognitive profiles for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research have shown that children with both ADHD and ASD are less consistent and less cautious compared to children with either diagnosis alone. Studies that have examined cognitive profiles among children with ADHD and/or ASD have shown that the profiles for the two groups of children are similar. Weaknesses have consistently been found in processing speed and working memory for both groups. Strengths have consistently been found in verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning (PRI). The aim of the current study was to compare four groups of children; children diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, comorbid ADHD and ASD, and children with symptoms of ADHD, with regard to attentional and cognitive profiles. The study sample included 2716 children, aged 7-17 years, who were referred for a neurodevelopmental assessment in Iceland. It was revealed that the children in the ASD group and the comorbid group, performed equally as well on the perceptual reasoning tasks. No difference emerged between the ADHD group and the ASD group on either Omission or Commission errors on a cognitive task. It is important to understand further how the co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD affects the manifestation of the symptoms and impacts on the child‘s performance on various tests compared to children with either diagnosis. Future studies should focus on using such findings to improve learning techniques specifically designed for these groups of youth. Nokkrar rannsóknir hafa verið gerðar til þess að athuga stýrifærni og hugræna færni barna með athyglisbrest með/án ofvirkni (ADHD) og/eða einhverfurófsröskun (ASD). Fyrri rannsóknir sýndu að börn með bæði ADHD og ASD sýndu óstöðugleika og minni varkárni á athyglisprófi samanborið við börn með aðra hvora greininguna. Hvað varðar hugræna færni, hafa rannsóknir sýnt þær niðurstöður að börn með ADHD eða ...