Discrepancies in Performance-Based Measures and Teacher Ratings of Executive Function in the Assessment of FASD

ABSTRACTGiven the negative trajectories of early behavior problems associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), early diagnosis of ADHD is considered critical to enable early intervention and treatment. To this end, the current investigation employed machine learning to evaluate the relative predictive value of parent/teacher ratings, as well as behavioral and neural measures of executive function in predicting ADHD diagnostic category in a sample consisting of 162 young children (53.7% ADHD, ages 4 to 7, mean age 5.55, 67.9% male, 82.6% Hispanic/Latino). Among all the target measures assessed in the study, teacher ratings of executive function were identified as by far the most important measure in predicting ADHD diagnostic category. While a more extensive evaluation of neural measures, such as diffusion-weighted imaging, may provide more information as they relate to the underlying cognitive deficits associated with ADHD, the current study indicates that commonly used structural imaging measures of cortical thickness, as well as widely used cognitive measures of executive function, have little incremental value in differentiating typically developing children from those diagnosed with ADHD. Future research evaluating the importance of such measures in predicting children’s functional impairment in academic and social areas would provide additional insight into their contributing role in ADHD.

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Structural and diffusion weighted brain imaging biomarkers for ADHD and its symptomology in very young (4–7-year-old) children

10.1101/2021.09.23.21263990 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ilke Oztekin ◽

Dea Garic ◽

Mark Finlayson ◽

Paulo Graziano ◽

Anthony Steven Dick

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Executive Function ◽

Brain Imaging ◽

Diagnostic Category ◽

Teacher Ratings ◽

Developmental Trajectory ◽

Imaging Biomarkers ◽

Impulsive Behavior ◽

Diffusion Weighted ◽

And Diffusion

The current study aimed to identify the key neurobiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as it relates to ADHD diagnostic category and symptoms of hyperactive/impulsive behavior and inattention. To do so, we adapted a predictive modeling approach to identify the key structural and diffusion weighted brain imaging measures, and their relative standing with respect to teacher ratings of executive function – EF (measured by the Metacognition Index of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function– BRIEF), negativity and emotion regulation – ER, (measured by the Emotion Regulation Checklist, ERC), in a critical young age range (ages 4 to 7, mean age 5.52 years, 82.2% Hispanic/Latino), where initial contact with educators and clinicians typically take place. Teacher ratings of EF and ER were predictive of both ADHD diagnostic category and symptoms of hyperactive/impulsive behavior and inattention. Among the neural measures evaluated, the current study identified the critical importance of the largely understudied diffusion weighted imaging measures for the underlying neurobiology of ADHD and its associated symptomology. Specifically, our analyses implicated the inferior frontal gyrus, the pericallosal sulcus, and the caudate as critical predictors of ADHD diagnostic category and its associated symptomology, above and beyond teacher ratings of EF and ER. Collectively, the current set of findings have implications for theories of ADHD, the relative utility of neurobiological measures with respect to teacher ratings of EF and ER, and the developmental trajectory of its underlying neurobiology.

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Executive Function Measurement in Urban Schools: Exploring the Links between Performance-Based Metrics and Teacher Ratings

10.31234/osf.io/myr2s ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

ANNIE ZONNEVELD ◽

Zewelanji Serpell ◽

Teresa Parr ◽

Michelle Renee Ellefson

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Classroom Behavior ◽

Teacher Ratings ◽

Assessment System ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Older Children ◽

Good Reliability ◽

Wide Range

When compared to research centered on the executive function development of white, middle-class children, relatively little is known about their non-white, lower-SES peers. In an effort to harmonize how executive functions are measured within under-represented contexts, the present study compares the utility of computerized performance-based tasks with teacher ratings of children’s classroom behavior using the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC, 2nd edition, Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) . The sample included older children who were mostly ethnic minority students from high-poverty backgrounds (N = 243; Mage = 9.28 years, SDage = 0.80; nfemale = 125; nAfricanAmerican = 216, nLatinAmerican = 15, nAsianAmerican = 6). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling tested for links between computerized performance-based executive function tasks and teacher ratings of everyday executive function. The results indicate good reliability for teacher ratings with this sample, with stronger links between a unified conceptualization of executive function compared to a diverse one. The findings suggest that these metrics are appropriate for a wide range of children and that ratings of everyday behavior might tap more into overall rather than specific executive function skills. These findings encourage continued questioning surrounding the organization of executive functions in older children from diverse backgrounds and their utility for general theories of cognitive development.

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Parent and Teacher Ratings Reveal Poor Executive Function in Children With SLI

ASHA Leader ◽

10.1044/leader.rib3.18082013.36 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 36-37

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Teacher Ratings ◽

Parent And Teacher Ratings

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Executive Functions and Clinical and Academic Outcomes in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-19-00143 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 1221-1230

Author(s):

Jane Roitsch ◽

Kimberly A. Murphy ◽

Anastasia M. Raymer

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Graduate Program ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Future Research ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Grade Point ◽

Praxis Ii ◽

Language Pathology ◽

Preliminary Study

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate executive function measures as they relate to clinical and academic performance outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Method An observational design incorporating correlations and stepwise multiple regressions was used to determine the strength of the relationships between clinical outcomes that occurred at various time points throughout the graduate program (clinical coursework grades throughout the program and case study paper scores at the end of the program), academic outcomes (graduate grade point average and Praxis II exam in speech-language pathology scores), and executive function (EF) scores (EF assessment scores, self-reported EF scores). Participants were 37 students (36 women, M age = 24.1) in a master's degree program in speech-language pathology at a southeastern U.S. university during the 2017–2018 academic year. Results Findings of this preliminary study indicated that a limited number of objective EF scores and self-reported EF scores were related to clinical and academic outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Conclusion As results of this preliminary study suggest that EF tests may be related to clinical and academic outcomes, future research can move to study the potential role of EF measures in the graduate admissions process in clinical graduate programs such as speech-language pathology.

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Clinical Decision-Making for Stroke and Aphasia in the Older Adult

Perspectives on Gerontology ◽

10.1044/gero14.1.4 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 4-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jacqueline Hinckley

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Cerebrovascular Disease ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Clinical Decision ◽

Cognitive Profile ◽

Focal Lesion ◽

Cognitive Profiles ◽

Supportive Communication ◽

Spaced Retrieval

Abstract A patient with aphasia that is uncomplicated by other cognitive abilities will usually show a primary impairment of language. The frequency of additional cognitive impairments associated with cerebrovascular disease, multiple (silent or diagnosed) infarcts, or dementia increases with age and can complicate a single focal lesion that produces aphasia. The typical cognitive profiles of vascular dementia or dementia due to cerebrovascular disease may differ from the cognitive profile of patients with Alzheimer's dementia. In order to complete effective treatment selection, clinicians must know the cognitive profile of the patient and choose treatments accordingly. When attention, memory, and executive function are relatively preserved, strategy-based and conversation-based interventions provide the best choices to target personally relevant communication abilities. Examples of treatments in this category include PACE and Response Elaboration Training. When patients with aphasia have co-occurring episodic memory or executive function impairments, treatments that rely less on these abilities should be selected. Examples of treatments that fit these selection criteria include spaced retrieval and errorless learning. Finally, training caregivers in the use of supportive communication strategies is helpful to patients with aphasia, with or without additional cognitive complications.

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