Poster #64 - The development of executive functioning in preschoolers with developmental disorders: ADHD, SLI and Intellectual Disabilities

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Difficulties in executive functions (EF) are well known in children with several diagnoses, suggesting that EF problems might be an underlying factor of several developmental disabilities. The focus of the present study therefore was on investigating children with specific and isolated developmental disabilities without any comorbid diagnoses. Children with specific language impairments (SLI), children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms (ADHD) usually all show difficulties in executive functioning. With regard to the EF model by Miyake et al. (2000) EF comprises different aspects of cognitive functioning, namely children´s abilities in updating, shifting and inhibition. The aim of the study was to find out if children with the diagnoses mentioned above show typical and definable abnormalities in EF, and if the development of EF follows the same or a different developmental course compared to typically developing children.

Method
We investigated a group of preschool children using a longitudinal design at two assessment points: At the first assessment point (t1), we administered tasks on language development, ADHD, intelligence, and EF tasks at the age of five years. At the second assessment point (t2) when children were 6 years old, we assessed children’s EF again and asked preschool teachers for a rating of self-regulation of the children using a questionnaire. To assess the three subcomponents of executive functioning children worked individually on a test battery (Updating: Wordspan backward, Complex span; Inhibition: Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task (HTKS); Shifting: Dimensional Change Card Sort Test (DCCS)).
In a larger longitudinal study of preschool development we recruited 198 children from 15 day-care centers located in areas with different social backgrounds. Using the above mentioned tasks of language development, intelligence and attention problems a subsample of 106 children was selected for the present longitudinal study: 22 children with ADHD symptoms, 24 children with SLI and 24 children with ID and 35 typically developing children.

Results
All collected data of the different executive functioning tasks were analyzed in a 4 (group) by 2 (age) factorial design. Our results showed that some abnormalities in EF overlap between the groups of children with developmental disorders, but there are also definable and specific patterns of abnormalities for every specific disorder. While children with ID have a specific deficit in updating, children with ADHD Symptoms have predominantly problems in inhibition and shifting. Children with SLI showed most problems in shifting. The preschool teachers only rated the self-regulation abilities of ADHD children as deficient. Our results indicate that problems in executive functioning are not necessarily observed as overt behavior in all children. Inhibition problems may be visible for caregivers, whereas updating and shifting problems may escape their perception. Therefore, deficits in EF should be examined by measurements of executive performance. EF deficits lead to constant information processing deficits underlying SLI, ADHD and ID. Any schooling or treatment should keep that in mind and help children not only to improve inhibition (ADHD), but also to improve the regulation of information processing with regard to updating and shifting (SLI, ID).

Authors

• Kirsten Schuchardt, University of Hildesheim
  Presenting Author

• Claudia Maehler, University of Hildesheim
  Non-Presenting Author