How is ADHD related to cognition in children?

“Cognitive function assessments, like those included in CBS Health, are important tools to assist in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of childhood ADHD. As a diagnostic aid, cognition scores can complement ADHD tools like the VADRS, verifying self-reported symptoms with objective data, providing additional details on the specific cognitive domains affected, or ruling out broader cognitive impairment. As treatment progresses, many providers will administer cognitive assessments alongside self-report ADHD questionnaires and other specialized ADHD assessment tools in order to verify that treatments are not only moving patients away from the thresholds on the VADRS, but also showing up in objective cognitive measures.

Cognition has been linked with ADHD in children. For example, both the inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity scores on the VADRS are correlated with parent-reported measures of executive function (Becker & Langberg, 2013), and other DSM-based ADHD scales have been linked with intellectual function (e.g., children diagnosed with predominantly inattentive ADHD tend to score lower in the processing speed index of the WISC-IV; Thaler, Bello, & Etcoff, 2012). Cognitive domains like inhibitory control (measured by Double Trouble in CBS Health), working memory (measured by Monkey Ladder and other tests in CBS Health), and short-term attention itself (measured by Feature Match in CBS Health) may be of particular interest to clinicians treating ADHD, and have been shown to be impaired in children diagnosed with ADHD (see Castellanos & Tannock, 2002).” – Cambridge Brain Sciences

Cambridge Brain Science Assessment Components for ADHD

Monkey Ladder

Visuospatial Working Memory—the ability to temporarily hold information in memory, and manipulate or update it based on changing circumstances or demands. This task involves reproducing a set of relationships between objects in space.

Example – Planning your day and the errands you need to run, then carrying out those errands in the correct order by memory.

Token Search

Working Memory—The ability to temporarily hold information in memory, and manipulate or update it based on changing circumstances or demands.
Example – Systematically searching for your car keys that have been left somewhere by your partner.

Grammatical Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning—The ability to quickly understand and make valid conclusions about concepts expressed in words.
Example – Understanding everyday speech that may contain negative statements – for instance, “I didn’t know that he wasn’t going to show up”.

Digit Span

Verbal Short-Term Memory—The ability to temporarily store information in memory.
Example – Remembering a telephone number as you’re entering it into your phone.

Feature Match

Attention—The ability to draw upon mental concentration and focus in order to monitor for a specific stimulus or difference.
Example – Identifying similarities and differences when comparing two things, such as deciding which of many great photos of your friends to share from an evening out.

Double Trouble

Response Inhibition—The ability to concentrate on relevant information in order to make a correct response despite interference or distracting information.
Example – Blocking out background conversations when you’re trying to focus on something, or ignoring buzz words when viewing a television ad (“Fresh! Simple! Revolutionary!”) and focusing your attention on more important factors, like price and quality of the item being sold.