Cognition and maths in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder with and without co-occurring movement difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Movement difficulties are common in ADHD, however, the implications of their co-occurrences on cognitive and maths performance is unknown. AIMS: This study set out to examine whether cognitive and maths performance of children with high ADHD symptoms differs depending on the co-occurrence of movement difficulties given evidence that weaker visuospatial processing, known to be important for maths performance, differentiates ADHD and DCD. We also aimed to examine whether relationships between cognition and maths in ADHD differs depending on co-occurring movement difficulties. METHODS: Participants were 43 drug naïve children between 6 and 12 years old (M = 101.53 months SD = 19.58). The ADHD-only group (n = 18) included children with high ADHD scores, and those in the ADHD+DCD group (n = 25) concurrently had high movement difficulty scores. All completed executive function and memory, including 2 visuo-spatial memory tasks from the CANTAB battery and Mathematics Problem Solving, Numeracy, and Maths Fluency tasks from the WIAT-III and specific factual, conceptual, and procedural maths component tasks. RESULTS: Children in the ADHD+DCD group scored significantly lower on visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity, than those in the ADHD-only group. Both groups were comparable on all other cognitive assessments of executive functions, memory, and processing speed. The groups did not differ in their maths attainment scores, nor on more specific maths skills. Comparison of the correlations between cognitive processes and maths revealed that the association between visuospatial WM updating and procedural skill efficiency was stronger for the ADHD-only group. Moreover, associations between visuospatial WM and maths problem solving attainment were stronger in the ADHD+DCD group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite similarities in maths performance, children with ADHD+DCD could be distinguished by lower visuospatial WM. Differential associations with some of the maths domain implicate recruitment of different cognitive processes for some aspects of maths. This distinction can be particularly useful for conceptualising cognitive characteristics of different clinical groups and understanding cognitive pathways of maths difficulties. Implications for interventions are discussed.

[Formula: see text]The relationship between cognition and mathematics in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review.

Cognitive processes play an imperative role in children's mathematics learning. Difficulties in cognitive functioning are a core feature of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, who also tend to show lower levels of mathematics attainment than their typically developing peers. This review (registration number: CRD42020169708) sought to aggregate findings from studies assessing the relationship between cognition and mathematics in children with a clinical ADHD diagnosis aged 4-12 years. A total of 11,799 studies published between 1992 and August 2020 were screened for eligibility using various database (PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, ERIC, Web of Science, and additional sources), from which four studies met inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was conducted on the correlations between mathematics and cognitive domains, including an evaluation of the risk of bias within the studies. Across four studies meeting inclusion criteria, memory, inhibitory control, and processing speed were assessed. The results showed a positive association between cognition and mathematics performance in this population. The strength of associations across these studies varied as a function of the cognitive domain in question, means by which mathematics performance was assessed, as well as whether confounding factors such as age and IQ were controlled for. Collectively, this review demonstrates a lack of research in this area and points to various methodological considerations for identifying the association between cognition and mathematics performance in ADHD.

Immediate impact of fantastical television content on children's executive functions.

Recent research has suggested that particular content of television programmes, such as watching fantastical scenes, can have negative consequences on cognitive functions in young children. We examined the effects of watching fantastical programmes on executive functions measured at both pre- and post-television viewing. Eighty 5- to 6-year-old children participated and were randomized into either fantastical or non-fantastical conditions. They completed inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning tasks both before and after watching either the brief fantastical or non-fantastical television clip. Whilst there were no differences between the groups at pre-test on any of the cognitive measures, children in the fantastical condition were poorer on inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility tasks at the post-test session. Watching fantastical television content, even briefly, seems to disrupt cognitive function performance in young children across a broad range of aspects of executive function. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Exposure to fantastical content within a television programme may impair executive functions in young children. What does this study add? Exposure to fantastical content within television programmes impairs executive functions in children of early primary school age. Impairment extends to all three core aspects of executive functions. Watching fantastical clips slows down planning performance without improving accuracy.