"I'm Doing Okay": Strengths and Resilience of Children With and Without ADHD

BACKGROUND

The body of research directed at understanding the strengths and resilience of this population is growing. Research has indicated there are strengths for individuals with ADHD, and found factors important for promoting good outcomes. This study investigates positive qualities by examining the strengths and resilience of children with and without ADHD.

METHODS

The final sample included 56 children between the ages of 10 and 17 years (ADHD: n = 38; without ADHD: n = 18).

RESULTS

Children in both groups tended to report average levels of strengths and resilience except for school functioning, where significant differences were found between groups. Significant correlations between strengths and resilience for both groups were found. Only family involvement was not significantly correlated with resilience for the without ADHD group.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study emphasize the importance of taking a strength-based perspective when working with children diagnosed with ADHD.

Miss. Diagnosis: A Systematic Review of ADHD in Adult Women

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this review was to explore the impact of living with undiagnosed ADHD and adult diagnosis on women.

METHOD

A systematic literature search was completed using three databases. Eight articles were considered relevant based on strict inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the results of the articles.

RESULTS

Four key themes emerged: Impacts on social-emotional wellbeing, Difficult relationships, Lack of control, and Self-acceptance after diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

This knowledge can be used to advance the understanding of ADHD in adult women and the implications for late diagnosis in women.

Positive Child Personality Factors in Children with ADHD

OBJECTIVE

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder. While previous studies have shown substantial impact of ADHD across multiple domains, relatively little attention has been devoted to studying positive personality factors in individuals with ADHD. To address this, the current study examined strength-based factors in children with ADHD in relation to their social skills.

METHOD

Sixty-four children (aged 8-12 years) with ADHD completed questionnaires related to their social skills and strength-based factors (e.g., optimism, resilience, self-concept, and coping skills).

RESULTS

Findings indicated significant differences between different levels of social skills in children with ADHD, with children with higher social skills reporting higher levels of resiliency, greater behavioral competence, and greater prosocial attitudes than those with lower social skills.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the importance of fostering strong social skills in children with ADHD, leading them to perceive themselves as competent and resilient.

The relation between symptoms of ADHD and symptoms of eating disorders in university students

There is evidence to suggest an association between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and eating disorders (EDs). As those with subclinical symptoms of ADHD or ED often experience impairment, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between ADHD symptoms and ED symptoms in a predominately subclinical undergraduate population. Students (n = 133; 80% female) completed questionnaires measuring ADHD and ED symptomatology. The relation between overall ADHD symptoms and ED symptoms was examined using linear regression; findings indicated that higher ADHD symptoms significantly predicted higher ED symptoms. When symptoms of both disorders were further delineated, inattentive ADHD symptoms consistently predicted higher ED symptoms (bulimia, body dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness). A number of mechanisms may explain the association between ADHD and ED symptoms, including shared executive function deficits, poor emotion regulation, and mood challenges. These mechanisms may have clinical relevance in ADHD and ED treatment and prevention efforts.

A Review of School-Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma towards Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is among the most stigmatized mental illness. Adolescence may be a critical time to intervene, before stigmatizing attitudes have been solidified. As such, schools may be in a unique position to provide anti-stigma interventions to a large number of students. The aim of this paper was to review and critically analyze the most recent (2003-present) school-based schizophrenia stigma interventions, with seven studies identified. Studies were analyzed according to their intervention method, outcome measures, and experimental design. Substantial heterogeneity between studies precluded concrete conclusions or recommendations regarding the effectiveness of school-based schizophrenia stigma interventions. However, the most effective and informative studies utilized combinations of rigorous experimental design, psychometrically-validated measures examining multiple different factors related to stigma, and longer-term follow-up analyses. Future researchers are encouraged to utilize intervention methods and outcomes measures that are developed from and relevant to adolescent populations, rather than adapted from that of adults.

The Demands of Performance Generating Systems on Executive Functions: Effects and Mediating Processes

Performance generating systems (PGS) are rule- and task-based approaches to improvisation on stage in theater, dance, and music. These systems require performers to draw on predefined source materials (texts, scores, memories) while working on complex tasks within limiting rules. An interdisciplinary research team at a large Western Canadian University hypothesized that learning to sustain this praxis over the duration of a performance places high demands on executive functions; demands that may improve the performers' executive abilities. These performers need to continuously shift attention while remaining responsive to embodied and environmental stimuli in the present, they are required to inhibit automated responses and impulses using the rules of the system, and they strive toward addressing multitasking challenges with fluidity and flexibility. This study set out to test the mentioned hypothesis deductively and identify mediating processes inductively, using mixed empirical methods. In a small sample experiment with a control group (28 participants; 15 in intervention group, 13 in control group), standardized quantitative tests of executive functions (D-KEFS) were administered before and after an 8-week intervention. Participant-reported qualitative observations from the praxis were also collected throughout the intervention for grounded analysis. Within the limitations of small sample data, we found both statistically significant and trending effects on inhibition, problem-solving initiation, fluidity, and cognitive flexibility. Examining the mediating process, we found that participants experienced significant challenges sustaining the practice halfway through the intervention. The participant-reported solutions to these challenges, which emerged as the strongest behavioral patterns when coding the qualitative data to saturation, were strategies of problem-solving and of re-directing attention. These strategies support and advance our understanding of the effects measured in the standardized tests. In terms of application, our results identify characteristics of PGS that could potentially maintain and strengthen executive functions over and above less demanding performing arts interventions. The results also deliver new insight into how PGS works, which may contribute to the development and teaching of this artistic practice.

Neurochemical Correlates of Executive Function in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVES

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder with no known biomarkers. The objectives of this study were 1) to investigate spectroscopic biomarkers in the right prefrontal cortex (R-PFC) and left striatum; 2) to evaluate Executive Function (EF) performance; and, 3) to examine the clinical relevance of glutamate in EF tasks.

METHODS

A total of 21 children with ADHD (M = 10.41 years, SD = 1.41) and 15 controls without ADHD (M = 9.90 years, SD = 1.54 years) were enrolled. Short echo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS; TE = 30ms) was used to study the changes in the R-PFC and left striatum. Both groups completed an EF assessment battery, including working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency tasks.

RESULTS

In the R-PFC, independent t-tests found decreased concentration of glutamate (p = 0.009), NAA (p = 0.029) and choline (p = 0.016) in ADHD participants compared to controls. No significant differences were seen in the left striatum. Multivariate analysis of variance did not indicate overall EF challenges in the ADHD sample (p < .05). Positive correlations with glutamate concentration and EF performance in the control group were observed, however, no such correlations were reported in the ADHD group.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated a subgroup of children with ADHD who presented with hypo-glutamatergic signalling in the R-PFC. Additionally, findings suggested a decoupling effect of glutamate in EF related tasks in children with ADHD compared to controls. Thus, glutamate concentration may be a possible ADHD biomarker and novel treatments target.

Trait and Ability Emotional Intelligence in Children With ADHD

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine trait and ability emotional intelligence (EI) in children with ADHD.

METHOD

Forty-one children with ADHD (9-11 years) completed two measures of EI-the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version-short form (EQi:YV-Brief) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, Youth Research Version (MSCEIT-YRV).

RESULTS

Children with ADHD did not differ on total EI scores from the normative data on either the ability or trait EI measures. However, they scored above the group norms on the MSCEIT-YRV subscale of Managing Emotions and lower on Understanding Emotions. On the EQi:YV-Brief, children with ADHD reported significantly lower Interpersonal and Adaptability EI.

CONCLUSION

Children with ADHD are relatively similar to children without ADHD when examining EI scores. However, there is some variability in the EI measures which should be considered when creating intervention programs.

The relation between emotional intelligence and resilience in at-risk populations

PURPOSE

Resilience factors and their relation to emotional intelligence (EI) as a potential strength for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) were investigated. Children with either ADHD or HFASD were hypothesized to demonstrate reduced EI and differential relations between EI and resilience as compared to typically developing (TD) children.

METHODS

Fifty-four children aged 8-12 years (18 with ADHD, 18 with HFASD, and 18 TD controls) completed the Resilience Scales for Children and Adolescents and BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory. Differences between groups (analysis of variance) and unique relations among the variables (correlation) for each group were examined.

RESULTS

No group differences; however, unique relations between the variables were found within each sample.

CONCLUSIONS

EI may be a unique area of interest for clinical populations and an important consideration in the development and implementation of interventions to capitalize upon inherent strengths. Implications of these results for intervention are discussed.

Social Support in Children With ADHD: An Exploration of Resilience

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the role of perceived social support in promoting emotional well-being among children with ADHD. Specifically, it examined how children with ADHD perceive support from key individuals in their lives and the relationships between this support and aspects of emotional well-being. Main versus buffering models of social support in the context of social preference status were also explored.

METHOD

Participants were 55 school-age children with ADHD-combined or hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-C/HI). Parent and child ratings evaluated source-specific social support, social status, and aspects of self-concept, anxiety, and depression.

RESULTS

Children with ADHD reported lower social support than normative samples. Social support had moderate positive associations with self-concept, with source-specific differences, but was not associated with internalizing symptoms. Regression models with social preference status supported a main effect model of perceived social support.

CONCLUSION

Social support may provide a target for resilience-based interventions among children with ADHD in promoting their self-concept and well-being.

Clinical Reasoning in the Assessment and Intervention Planning for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with insight into the clinical reasoning involved in the assessment and intervention planning for a child with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The reader will be guided through the authors’ conceptualization of this case, and suggestions for intervention in the classroom will be discussed.

Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Reading Disability: A Review of the Efficacy of Medication Treatments

Reading is a multifaceted skillset that has the potential to profoundly impact a child's academic performance and achievement. Mastery of reading skills is often an area of difficulty for children during their academic journey, particularly for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in Reading (SLD-R), or children with a comorbid diagnosis of both ADHD and SLD-R. ADHD is characterized by executive functioning and impulse control deficits, as well as inattention and impulsivity. Among the academic struggles experienced by children with ADHD are challenges with word reading, decoding, or reading comprehension. Similarly, children with SLD-R frequently encounter difficulties in the development of appropriate reading skills. SLD-R incorporates dysfunctions in basic visual and auditory processes that result in difficulties with decoding and spelling words. There have been limited empirical studies investigating the efficacy of interventions to improve the reading ability of children with both ADHD and SLD-R. Research studies that have focused on reading interventions for children from this population have predominantly included the use of medication treatments with stimulants (e.g., methylphenidate) and non-stimulants (e.g., atomoxetine). This review paper will present and integrate findings from empirical studies on successful medication treatments for children with comorbid ADHD and SLD-R. Furthermore, this paper will extend findings from empirically successful medication treatments to provide directions for future research.

A C.L.E.A.R. Approach to Report Writing: A Framework for Improving the Efficacy of Psychoeducational Reports

Psychoeducational reports are the primary means for a school psychologist to communicate the results of an assessment. Although reports should be written in the most efficient and reader-friendly manner, this is not always the case. Additionally, problems in report writing have remained relatively consistent for several decades, despite recommendations on how reports should be improved. The focus of the current article is to provide an integrated and easily implemented framework for improving psychoeducational reports based on the evidence and broad recommendations currently available in the literature. Specifically, the C.L.E.A.R. Approach to report writing for practitioners is presented, with practical strategies and examples provided to illustrate the use of the model in a school-based setting.