Symbol relations training improves cognitive functioning in students with neurodevelopmental disorders

Abstract

Students with neurodevelopmental disorders [Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)] often experience learning challenges due to underlying weaknesses in cognitive processes. As these are some of the most common conditions to impact functioning, the development of effective treatments is a priority for neuropsychologists. However, the task of designing effective cognitive interventions has proven one of the most difficult challenges for our field. The Arrowsmith Program uses a novel approach compared to other cognitive intervention programs. We hypothesized that intensive practice of one aspect of this program would lead to improved cognitive functions in students with neurodevelopmental disorders. Twenty-seven students with neurodevelopmental disorders (ages 9.4–18.4 years) were recruited from Arrowsmith schools. Cognitive baseline and post-intervention data were gathered using components of the Woodcock–Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities. The intervention consisted of 6 weeks of intensive practice of the Symbol Relations Task. W-scores were used in a paired sample t-test analysis to determine if cognitive skill improvement occurred. Significant improvements were found in several measures of neuropsychological assessment, in particular in the Cattell–Horn–Carroll broad abilities These results provide a foundation for further work examining the utility of this novel approach to cognitive intervention.

Keywords:

• Cognitive intervention
• executive functioning
• intervention outcomes
• neurodevelopmental disorders
• symbol relations training

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Arrowsmith schools in Toronto, ON, Canada, and Eaton Arrowsmith schools in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Redmond, Washington, USA, where we recruited the sample for this study, as well as the children and adolescents who participated in this study and their parents.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by private donations to the Brain-Behaviour Lab at the University of British Columbia, the Southern Illinois University Neuroscience Research Center, and the Arrowsmith School in Toronto, Canada.