學院

醫學院

系所

職能治療學系

題名

Neuropsychological testing for children with ADHD: A background review and case analyses

作者

林克忠 ( LIN KEH-CHUNG )

期刊名稱

JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, R.O.C. v.21 pp.68-80

發表日期

2003

著作性質

原始論著

語文

中文

系統號

00016475

摘要

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder with core symptoms including inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. These symptoms often cause disruptive performance at home and school. Neuropsychological assessments can be used for examining neurobehavioral functions of children with ADHD in order to formulate appropriate rehabilitation and management interventions. This paper reviewed current literature pertinent to ADHD and then presented neuropsychological test profiles of four children with the disorder. These children were recruited from Taipei Municipal Women and Children's Hospital Department of Child Psychiatry. Each child received the randomized letter and shape cancellation tests and the line bisection test individually. Measures of performance on the cancellation task included on-task behaviors, number of target omissions and commissions, and time spent for task completion. Deviation from the true midpoint was measured for the line bisection test. Results showed that children with ADHD exhibited significant deficits on the tests relative to the control child with typical development. The children with ADHD showed deficits such as fidgeting, impulsivity, reduced ability to identify target stimuli, and attentional bias. The findings were, however, not fully congruent with the right hemisphere dysfunction theory of ADHD, which implies the heterogeneity of this diagnostic group. Intervention for attentional deficits in ADHD should thus be individually tailored keeping in mind the possibility of differential neurobehavioral dysfunctions among the afflicted children that may differ in neuropathological mechanism and comorbidity pattern. Key words: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neuropsychological assessment, the cancellation test, the line bisection test, case analysis