The Age-Related Changes in Speed of Visual Perception, Visual Verbal and Visuomotor Performance, and Nonverbal Intelligence During Early School Years.

Speed of sensory information processing has long been recognized as an important characteristic of global intelligence, though few studies have concurrently investigated the contribution of different types of information processing to nonverbal IQ in children, nor looked at whether chronological age vs. months of early schooling plays a larger role. Thus, this study investigated the speed of visual information processing in three tasks including a simple visual inspection time (IT) task, a visual-verbal processing task using Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) of objects as an accepted preschool predictor of reading, and a visuomotor processing task using a game-like iPad application, (the "SLURP" task) that requires writing like skills, in association with nonverbal IQ (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices) in children (n = 100) aged 5-7 years old. Our results indicate that the rate and accuracy of information processing for all three tasks develop with age, but that only RAN and SLURP rates show significant improvement with years of schooling. RAN and SLURP also correlated significantly with nonverbal IQ scores, but not with IT. Regression analyses demonstrate that months of formal schooling provide additional contributions to the speed of dual-task visual-verbal (RAN) and visuomotor performance and Raven's scores supporting the domain-specific hypothesis of processing speed development for specific skills as they contribute to global measures such as nonverbal IQ. Finally, RAN and SLURP are likely to be useful measures for the early identification of young children with lower intelligence and potentially poor reading.

Anxiety as a Common Biomarker for School Children With Additional Health and Developmental Needs Irrespective of Diagnosis.

Currently very little evidence is available regarding the biological characteristics and common comorbid behaviors that are associated with children characterized by learning difficulties who require additional support at school. These children are usually referred to as having Additional Health and Developmental Needs by the Australian Government and the associated public education system more broadly though the problems may arise from academic, social and/or emotional stressors and may or may not include children with clinically diagnosed Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety levels (Spence Children's Anxiety Scale- Parent Report), autism traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient - Child Version) and sleep quality (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children) in children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs without an intellectual disability, but with either a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (N = 25), Speech and Language Impairment (N = 37) or Other Diagnosis (N = 22). Our results demonstrated that these children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs showed atypically high levels of anxiety and impaired sleep quality, with the ASD group reporting more impairments associated with comorbid anxiety and sleep quality than either of the other clinically diagnosed groups. In fact, greater anxiety level was associated with a greater number of autism traits and poorer sleep quality regardless of diagnostic group suggesting that anxiety is a common experience for children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs. It is suggested that assessment of anxiety, sleep behaviors and autism traits may be useful markers for early identification of children within this population, thus providing scope for early and targeted intervention.

Internet-Delivered Parenting Program for Prevention and Early Intervention of Anxiety Problems in Young Children: Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The Cool Little Kids parenting group program is an effective intervention for preventing anxiety disorders in young children who are at risk because of inhibited temperament. The program has six group sessions delivered by trained psychologists to parents of 3- to 6-year-old children. An online adaptation (Cool Little Kids Online) has been developed to overcome barriers to its wide dissemination in the community. This study tested the efficacy of Cool Little Kids Online in a randomized controlled trial. METHOD: A total of 433 parents of a child aged 3 to 6 years with an inhibited temperament were randomized to the online parenting program or to a 24-week waitlist. The online program has 8 interactive modules providing strategies that parents can implement with their child to manage their child's avoidant coping, reduce parental overprotection, and encourage child independence. Parents were provided telephone consultation support with a psychologist when requested. Parents completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks after baseline. RESULTS: The intervention group showed significantly greater improvement over time in child anxiety symptoms compared to the control group (d = 0.38). The intervention group also showed greater reductions in anxiety life interference (ds = 0.33-0.35) and lower rates of anxiety disorders than the control group (40% versus 54%), but there were minimal effects on broader internalizing symptoms or overprotective parenting. CONCLUSION: Results provide empirical support for the efficacy of online delivery of the Cool Little Kids program. Online dissemination may improve access to an evidence-based prevention program for child anxiety disorders. Clinical trial registration information-Randomised Controlled Trial of Cool Little Kids Online: A Parenting Program to Prevent Anxiety Problems in Young Children; http://www.anzctr.org.au/; 12615000217505.

Comparison of Measures of Ability in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability.

Finding the most appropriate intelligence test for adolescents with Intellectual Disability (ID) is challenging given their limited language, attention, perceptual, and motor skills and ability to stay on task. The study compared performance of 23 adolescents with ID on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), one of the most widely used intelligence tests, and three non-verbal IQ tests, the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), the Test of Non-verbal Intelligence-Fourth Edition and the Wechsler Non-verbal test of Ability. Results showed that the WISC-IV Full Scale IQ raw and scaled scores were highly correlated with total scores from the three non-verbal tests, although the correlations were higher for raw scores, suggesting they may lead to better understanding of within group differences and what individuals with ID can do at the time of assessment. All participants attempted more questions on the non-verbal tests than the verbal. A preliminary analysis showed that adolescents with ID without ASD (n = 15) achieved higher scores overall than those presenting with ID+ASD (n = 8). Our findings support the view that short non-verbal tests are more likely to give a similar IQ result as obtained from the WISC-IV. In terms of the time to administer and the stress for participants, they are more appropriate for assessing adolescents with ID.

The Contributions of Memory and Vocabulary to Non-Verbal Ability Scores in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability.

It is usually assumed that performance on non-verbal intelligence tests reflects visual cognitive processing and that aspects of working memory (WM) will be involved. However, the unique contribution of memory to non-verbal scores is not clear, nor is the unique contribution of vocabulary. Thus, we aimed to investigate these contributions. Non-verbal test scores for 17 individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and 39 children with typical development (TD) of similar mental age were compared to determine the unique contribution of visual and verbal short-term memory (STM) and WM and the additional variance contributed by vocabulary scores. No significant group differences were found in the non-verbal test scores or receptive vocabulary scores, but there was a significant difference in expressive vocabulary. Regression analyses indicate that for the TD group STM and WM (both visual and verbal) contributed similar variance to the non-verbal scores. For the ID group, visual STM and verbal WM contributed most of the variance to the non-verbal test scores. The addition of vocabulary scores to the model contributed greater variance for both groups. More unique variance was contributed by vocabulary than memory for the TD group, whereas for the ID group memory contributed more than vocabulary. Visual and auditory memory and vocabulary contributed significantly to solving visual non-verbal problems for both the TD group and the ID group. However, for each group, there were different weightings of these variables. Our findings indicate that for individuals with TD, vocabulary is the major factor in solving non-verbal problems, not memory, whereas for adolescents with ID, visual STM, and verbal WM are more influential than vocabulary, suggesting different pathways to achieve solutions to non-verbal problems.

Preventing anxiety problems in children with Cool Little Kids Online: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health problem and begin early in life. Early intervention to prevent anxiety problems in young children who are at risk has the potential for long-term impact. The 'Cool Little Kids' parenting group program was previously established to prevent anxiety disorders in young children at risk because of inhibited temperament. This group program was efficacious in two randomised controlled trials and has recently been adapted into an online format. 'Cool Little Kids Online' was developed to widen and facilitate access to the group program's preventive content. A pilot evaluation of the online program demonstrated its perceived utility and acceptability among parents. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Cool Little Kids Online in a large randomised controlled trial. METHODS/DESIGN: Parents of young children who are 3-6 years old and who have an inhibited temperament will be recruited (n = 385) and randomly assigned to either immediate access to Cool Little Kids Online or delayed access after a waiting period of 24 weeks. The online program contains eight modules that help parents address key issues in the development of anxiety problems in inhibited children, including children's avoidant coping styles, overprotective parenting behaviours, and parents' own fears and worries. Intervention participants will be offered clinician support when requested. The primary outcome will be change in parent-reported child anxiety symptoms. Secondary outcomes will be child internalising symptoms, child and family life interference due to anxiety, over-involved/protective parenting, plus child anxiety diagnoses assessed by using a new online diagnostic tool. Assessments will take place at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks after baseline. DISCUSSION: This trial expands upon previous research on the Cool Little Kids parenting group program and will evaluate the efficacy of online delivery. Online delivery of the program could result in an easily accessible evidence-based resource to help families with young children at temperamental risk for anxiety disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12615000217505 (registered 5 March 2015).

Problem solving ability in children with intellectual disability as measured by the Raven's colored progressive matrices.

This study investigated the developmental trajectory of problem solving ability in children with intellectual disability (ID) of different etiologies (Down Syndrome, Idiopathic ID or low functioning Autism) as measured on the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test (RCPM). Children with typical development (TD) and children with ID were matched on total correct performance (i.e., non-verbal mental age) on the RCPM. RCPM total correct performance and the sophistication of error types were found to be associated with receptive vocabulary in all participants, suggesting that verbal ability plays a role in more sophisticated problem solving tasks. Children with ID made similar errors on the RCPM as younger children with TD as well as more positional error types. This result suggests that children with ID who are deficient in their cognitive processing resort to developmentally immature problem solving strategies when unable to determine the correct answer. Overall, the findings support the use of RCPM as a valid means of matching intellectual capacity of children with TD and ID.

A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a manual puzzle version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form. METHODS: The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID. RESULTS: In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population. CONCLUSION: Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.