Transdiagnostic Profiles of Behaviour and Communication Relate to Academic and Socio-emotional Functioning and Neural White Matter Organisation

Behavioural and language difficulties co-occur in multiple neurodevelopmental conditions. Our understanding of these problems has arguably been slowed by an overreliance on case-control designs, which limit the conclusions we can draw because they fail to capture the overlap across different neurodevelopmental disorders and the heterogeneity within them. In this study, we recruited a large transdiagnostic cohort of children with complex diagnosed and undiagnosed needs (N = 805) to identify distinct subgroups of children with common profiles of behavioural and language strengths and difficulties. We then investigated whether and how these data-driven groupings could be distinguished from a comparison sample (N = 158) on academic, socio-emotional, and neural white matter characteristics. We identified three distinct subgroups of children, each with different levels of difficulties in structural language, pragmatic communication, and hot and cool executive functions. All three subgroups struggled with academic and socio-emotional skills relative to the comparison sample, potentially representing three alternative but related developmental pathways to difficulties in these areas. The children with the weakest language skills had the most widespread difficulties with learning, whereas those with more pronounced difficulties with hot executive skills experienced the most severe difficulties within the socio-emotional domain. Each data-driven subgroup could be distinguished from the comparison sample based on both shared and subgroup-unique patterns of neural white matter organisation. These findings advance our understanding of commonly co-morbid behavioural and language problems and their relationship to behavioural outcomes and neurobiological substrates.

THE USE OF LEARNERS’ DIARIES: DOES IT WORK TO ENGAGE STUDENTS’ METACOGNITION IN LEARNING IF CLAUSES?

Metacognitive strategies are expected as ‘higher order executive skills’ which enable college students to approach learning systematically and effectively by using the elements of planning, monitoring and evaluating. This study is conducted to investigate whether or not metacognitive strategies can affect the development of structural knowledge of students. To reflect how the students use these strategies, learning diary can lead the learners to strategy use. Twenty-one participants of third semester students were involved. Nine of them were selected to be probed intensively for their metacognitive habits in learning If Clauses. Then, they were divided into three groups according to the level of students’ progress and their mid test score. The first group was assumed as novice learners, the second group was categorized as medium level students and the last group was presumed as expert learners. This study revealed that expert learners were better diarist in documenting what they did when learning. The medium level students also indicated that their capability in realizing the use of their cognition was up and down. They were good at evaluating their shortcoming and monitoring some progress, but they were poor at planning and modifying strategies. Meanwhile, the novice learners less reflected how they learned on their documentation. It could be illustrated that they did not have any motivation to plan their learning, evaluate and monitor their learning.

Early bilingual immersion school program and cognitive development in French-speaking children: Effect of the second language learned (English vs. Dutch) and exposition duration (2 vs. 5 years)

The results of studies targeting cognitive and academic advantages in children frequenting early bilingual immersion school programs (CLIL) have been contradictory. While the impact of the amount of CLIL experience has already been studied, the role of the second language learned has been little studied to account for differences among study findings. The link between executive skills (EF) and scholar abilities (e.g., mathematics) in the CLIL context has also been little investigated. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the impact of CLIL on EF and academic performances varies depending on the immersion language and the duration of CLIL experience. The sample included a total of 230 French-speaking children attending second (141) and fifth (89) grade classes. Within each grade, there were three matched language groups composed of children respectively immersed in English, immersed in Dutch, and non-immersed controls. The children were administered tasks assessing executive functions [alerting, cognitive flexibility, and working memory], as well as arithmetic abilities. In second grade, we detected no difference in EF between the language groups. On the other hand, in fifth grade, the two immersed groups outperformed the non-immersed group on the cognitive flexibility task but did not differ between them. Moreover, only the Dutch immersed group outperformed the control group on the working memory task. Arithmetic performances also differed depending on the language learned; in second grade, Dutch learners performed better than the monolingual group. In fifth grade, Dutch learners outperformed the two other groups. These results suggest that the impact of CLIL on executive skills and arithmetic performances might be modulated by the amount of CLIL experience and the second language learned in immersion.

A-150 Comparison of a Traditional and a Novel Measure of Executive Functioning in Predicting Daily Task Performance

Objective Executive functioning (EF) is known to be associated with performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). However, traditional EF assessment takes place in the lab under ideal circumstances, which does not take into account the complexity of daily life, such as the need to interleave tasks. The present study aimed to examine whether a novel ecologically valid measure of EF that requires interleaving of activities, the “Night Out Task” (NOT), better predicted daily at-home IADL performance than a traditional EF measure. Method Participants were 49 healthy, community-dwelling older adults aged 60–95 (Mage = 69.35, SD = 6.51, 63.3% female, 100% non-Hispanic White). Participants completed both a traditional (Delis Kaplan Executive Function System; D-KEFS) and a novel measure (Night Out Task; NOT) of EF. Over the course of the next 18 days, they completed IADL tasks at home daily as part of the Daily Assessment of Independent Living and Executive Skills (DAILIES) protocol. Results Planning time on the NOT predicted, above and beyond the D-KEFS (p = 0.007, CI = −0.053 to −0.009), whether the DAILIES tasks were completed at all and whether they were completed during a required time frame. NOT accuracy was predictive of how accurately daily tasks were completed, but not above and beyond the D-KEFS (p = 0.131, CI = −0.266 to 1.99). Conclusions The NOT is a novel ecologically valid measure of EF that demonstrated incremental utility beyond the D-KEFS. While the NOT and D-KEFS predicted task accuracy, only the NOT planning time predicted whether participants completed a task.

The Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties in the Working Context of Malaysia

Executive functions (EFs) are a set of high-level cognitive and behavioral monitoring skills that are important to employees’ work performance. The 25-item Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised (ESQ-R) measures executive dysfunction in five dimensions (e.g., emotional regulation). Nevertheless, the usability of this newly developed scale for employees remains unclear. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the adopted ESQ-R for working adults in Malaysia. A total of 325 employees responded to an online survey consisted of the ESQ-R, Executive Function Index (EFI), self-rated creativity scale (SRCS), and 9-item Utretch Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and Employee Well-being Scale. Several CFAs were conducted to compare three competing models. While all models showed a good fit, the 5-factor second-order model that is in line with the theoretical structure is preferable. The ESQ-R showed excellent internal consistency. Moreover, the ESQ-R score was negatively correlated with EFI, creativity, and UWES-9 scores, supporting the convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. The ESQ-R score also explained incremental variance in well-being above and beyond scores of the UWES-9 and SRCS. Taken together, the ESQ-R is a useful tool for assessing employees’ executive dysfunction and suggesting intervention programs helping employees with deficits in EFs.