development and this may represent an important period
for intervention.14
The premise of cognitive training is that repeated practice
of a cognitive skill will result in gains for that skill.All assessments will occur at the Monash University
Turner Psychology Clinics, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.TALI Train has been shown to improve cognitive attention
and numeracy outcomes in children with intellectual
delay due to conditions such as, autism spectrum
disorder and Down syndrome.24 25 Further, for children
with intellectual delay, TALI train has been found to be
more beneficial for those with lower adaptive functioning
and higher pre-intervention
attention abilities.27 When
delivered in the classroom to primary school children,
TALI Train has been shown to improve inattentive and/
or hyperactive behaviours in the classroom and at home26
Objectives
For children with ADHD, this study aims to assess: (1)
whether TALI Train improves core attention and inhibitory
control abilities (selective attention, sustained
attention, response inhibition and interference control);
(2) whether TALI Train improves performance on
the following untrained domains: working memory,
behavioural attention, functional impairment, executive
and social functioning; (3) the long-term
effects of TALI
Train; and (4) predictors of the training outcomes.Cognitive training is theoretically based on the concept
of neuroplasticity, the brain's capacity to alter structure
and function in response to environmental factors.15
Meta analyses have shown that there are robust performance
deficits in psychological processes for people with
ADHD.4 Specifically, for children and adolescents with
ADHD, moderate impairments in the domains of attention
and inhibitory control are common.4 16 Cognitive
training aims to strengthen neurocognitive functioning
by external stimulation.17
The focus of most cognitive training approaches has
been to achieve improvements in both directly trained
domains but also in other untrained domains.These RCTs demonstrate
targeting attention and inhibitory control can improve
performance on objective measures for children with
ADHD, including the Test of Variable Attention (TOVA)
a validated, continuous performance test that measures
attention and inhibitory control.9 10 For both RCTs
however, there was no difference between the intervention
and control conditions, on a range of secondary
outcomes including parent and clinician ratings of
ADHD symptoms, academic outcomes and functional
impairment.9 10 These studies indicate that cognitive
training may be useful in improving aspects of cognitive
functioning for children with ADHD, but that further
research is required to understand the lack of improvement
for parent or clinician reported outcomes.The efficacy of TALI Train
(here referred to as the intervention) compared with the
placebo control programme will be evaluated at baseline,
immediately postintervention, and at 3-month
follow-up.Protected by copyright.