The Diagnostic Utility of Executive Function Assessments in the Identification of ADHD in Children

Citation

Holmes J, Gathercole SE, Place M, Alloway TP, Elliott JG & Hilton KA (2010) The Diagnostic Utility of Executive Function Assessments in the Identification of ADHD in Children. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 15 (1), pp. 37-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2009.00536.x

Abstract
Background: Deficits in executive functions have been widely reported to characterise individuals with ADHD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a range of executive function measures for identifying children with ADHD. Method: Eighty-three children with ADHD and 50 normally-developing children without ADHD were assessed on measures of inhibition, set-shifting, planning, problem-solving, response inhibition, sustained attention and working memory. Measures of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and diagnostic odds ratios were calculated. Results: Executive function tasks effectively discriminated between children with and without ADHD. Measures of response inhibition and working memory contributed the most to the discriminant function. Conclusions: Cognitive measures of executive function can be used to help identify children with ADHD and could be useful as additional diagnostic tools for clinical practitioners.

Keywords
; Children with perceptual disabilities; Learning disabled children; Memory in children

Journal
Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Volume 15, Issue 1