ADHD and Comorbid Disorders in Childhood Psychiatric Problems, Medical Problems, Learning Disorders and Developmental Coordination Disorder

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting primarily motor skills, but attentional and executive impairments are common in affected individuals. Moreover, the presence of neurodevelopmental comorbidities is frequent in this population, which certainly influences the cognitive profile of the children concerned. Previous studies have reported deficits in visuospatial/nonverbal and planning tasks. This systematic review of the literature aims to determine if impairments can be found in other attentional and executive functions as well. The type of cognitive tasks, the tasks’ modality (verbal/nonverbal), and the influence of comorbid disorders on attentional and executive profiles are systematically considered. Forty-one studies were identified through the PubMed/Medline and PsycINFO databases according to pre-established eligibility criteria. The results reveal weaknesses in inhibitory control, working memory, planning, nonverbal fluency, and general executive functioning in children with DCD. The presence of comorbid disorders seemingly contributes to the verbal working memory difficulties findings. This review contributes to a better understanding of the cognitive impairments in DCD and of the needs of children with this disorder, allowing to optimize practitioners’ therapeutic interventions.

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“Same, same but different”: The optimal viewing position effect in developmental dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder and comorbid disorders

Dyslexia ◽

10.1002/dys.1688 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stéphanie Bellocchi ◽

Stéphanie Ducrot

Keyword(s):

Developmental Dyslexia ◽

Developmental Coordination Disorder ◽

Position Effect ◽

Comorbid Disorders ◽

Optimal Viewing Position ◽

Coordination Disorder ◽

Viewing Position

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Intellectual Profiles in Children With ADHD and Comorbid Learning and Motor Disorders

Journal of Attention Disorders ◽

10.1177/1087054715576343 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 1227-1236 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Elyse M. Parke ◽

Nicholas S. Thaler ◽

Lewis M. Etcoff ◽

Daniel N. Allen

Keyword(s):

Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

Developmental Coordination Disorder ◽

Learning Disorders ◽

Written Expression ◽

Reading Disorder ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Children With Adhd ◽

Perceptual Reasoning ◽

Coordination Disorder ◽

Intellectual Profiles

Objective: Neurodevelopmental disorders, including Reading Disorder, Disorder of Written Expression, and Developmental Coordination Disorder, often co-occur with ADHD. Although research has identified increased functional impairment in the presence of these comorbid diagnoses, few direct comparisons of intellectual profiles have been conducted. Thus, the present study examined Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) profiles of children with ADHD alone and with comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Method: Participants included 296 children with ADHD, ADHD with Developmental Coordination Disorder, and ADHD with Reading Disorder and/or Disorder of Written Expression. Results: Comparisons of these groups suggests children with ADHD and language-based Learning Disorders have poorer working memory than children with only ADHD. Furthermore, children with ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder perform relatively better on verbal compared with perceptual reasoning indexes. Conclusion: These intellectual profiles may have utility in identifying cognitive weaknesses inherent to these disorders and may be used to guide treatment intervention.

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Psychiatric telephone interview with parents for screening of childhood autism – tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other comorbidities (A-TAC)

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.187.3.262 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 187 (3) ◽

pp. 262-267 ◽

Cited By ~ 125

Author(s):

Sara Lina Hansson ◽

Annika Svanströmröjvall ◽

Maria Rastam ◽

Carina Gillberg ◽

Christopher Gillberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Autistic Spectrum Disorder ◽

Telephone Interview ◽

Developmental Coordination Disorder ◽

Learning Disorders ◽

Autistic Spectrum ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Clinical Diagnoses ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Coordination Disorder

BackgroundReliable, valid and easily administered screening instruments would greatly facilitate large-scale neuropsychiatric research.AimsTo test a parent telephone interview focused on autism-tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other comorbidities (A-TAC).MethodParents of 84 children in contact with a child neuropsychiatric clinic and 27 control children were interviewed. Validity and interrater and test–retest reliability were assessed.ResultsInterrater and test–retest reliability were very good. Areas under receiver operating characteristics curves between interview scores and clinical diagnoses were around 0. 90 for ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders, and above 0. 70 for tics, learning disorders and developmental coordination disorder. Using optimal cut-off scores for autistic spectrum disorder and ADHD, good to excellent kappa levels for interviews and clinical diagnoses were noted.ConclusionsThe A–TAC appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for identifying autistic spectrum disorder, ADHD, tics, learning disorders and developmental coordination disorder.

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