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  • Title: Social Skills Differences among Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Types in a Chat Room Assessment Task

Author(s): Mikami A , Huang-Pollock C , Pfiffner L , McBurnett K , Hangai D

Source: JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY eFIRST date : 13 MAR 2007

Abstract: This study assessed social skills in 116 children aged 7-12 with ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C; n=33), ADHD-Inattentive Type (ADHD-I; n=45), and comparison children (n=38), with consideration of the role sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms play in distinguishing profiles. Social skills were assessed using a novel computerized chat room task, in which participants were encouraged to join a conversation and type messages to interact with four computer-simulated peers. Every participant received the identical stimulus from the simulated peers, but was free to respond to it in his or her own unique way. Relative to comparison children, children with ADHD-C made off-topic and hostile responses; children with ADHD-I made off-topic responses, few responses and showed poor memory for the conversation. ADHD subtype differences remained after statistical control of IQ, reading achievement, typing skill, and comorbid disruptive behavior disorders. SCT symptoms, most prevalent among children with ADHD-I, predicted a distinct pattern of social withdrawal and lower hostility. Parent and teacher ratings and in-vivo observations of social skills correlate with this new measure.

  • Title: Association between sleep problems and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in young adults

Author(s ): Gau, SSF (Gau, Susan S. F.), Kessler, RC (Kessler, Ronald C.), Tseng, WL (Tseng, Wan-Ling), Wu, YY (Wu, Yu-Yu), Chiu, YN (Chiu, Yen-Nan), Yeh, CB (Yeh, Chin-Bin), Hwu, HG (Hwu, Hai-Gwo)

Source: SLEEP 30 (2): 195-201 FEB 1 2007

Abstract: Study Objective: To examine the association between sleep-related problems and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a community sample of young adults in Taiwan.

Design: A college-based cross-sectional survey.

Participants: Two thousand two hundred eighty-four first-year college students (aged 18-20) in a university in Taiwan.

Measurements and Results: Each student completed a questionnaire regarding sleep schedule (self-estimated total sleep duration and sleep need), sleep problems (dyssomnia, parasomnia, and snoring), and the Chinese version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Subjects were grouped separately for the inattention and hyperactivity subscales into highly likely ADHD (2.3%, 0.7%), probable ADHD (21.3%, 5.7%), and probably non-ADHD (76.4%, 93.6%) groups according to the scoring scheme of the subscales of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Results showed that, for both inattention and hyperactivity symptoms, the highly likely ADHD and probable ADHD groups were more likely than the non-ADHD group to have a variety of current and lifetime sleep problems. No significant difference in sleep problems was found between the highly likely ADHD and probable ADHD groups. Inattention, but not hyperactivity, was associated with greater sleep need and greater difference between sleep need and self-estimated nocturnal sleep duration. Hyperactivity, but not inattention, was associated with decreased nocturnal sleep duration.

Conclusions: Consistent with prior findings from children and adolescents, ADHD symptoms in young adults are related to sleep problems. Further studies on adults with ADHD should help to refine our understanding of the causal basis for any implications of this association.

  • Title: Methylphenidate improves reading performance in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and comorbid dyslexia: An unblinded clinical trial

Author(s ): Keulers, EHH (Keulers, Esther H. H.), Hendriksen, JGM (Hendriksen, Jos G. M.), Feron, FJM (Feron, Frans J. M.), Wassenberg, R (Wassenberg, Renske), Wuisman-Frerker, MGF (Wuisman-Frerker, Mea G. F.), Jolles, J (Jolles, Jelle), Vles, SH (Vles, S. H.)

Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY 11 (1): 21-28 JAN 2007

Abstract: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are frequently co-occurring disorders. Although methylphenidate (MPH) is the primary treatment for ADHD, the effect on reading in children with these comorbid problems is not yet known. This study was an unblinded clinical trial to evaluate the reading performance before and after treatment with MPH. Reading performance was compared with General Linear model repeated measures between three groups: (1) an experimental group of children with both ADHD and dyslexia (N = 24), (2) a control group of children with ADHD (N = 9) and (3) a control group of children with dyslexia (N = 10). MPH improved reading performance significantly stronger in the experimental group than in the control groups; the number of correctly read words increased to a larger extent. In conclusion, MPH proved to be an aid in the reading process of children with ADHD and comorbid dyslexia by improving the learning conditions, but MPH cannot cure the reading disorder. Future research should study the effect of MPH on reading in a double-blind clinical trial. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of European Paediatric Neurology Society.