The Cognitive Remediation Therapy Program Among Children with ADHD: Tunisian experience.

BACKGROUND: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with neuropsychological deficits including executive and attentional impairments. The cognitive remediation therapy is a new promising technique designed to improve the neurocognitive abilities damaged in ADHD.

AIM: Adapt and apply the cognitive remediation program CRT (Cognitive Remediation Therapy) for children and adolescents with ADHD and to evaluate its effectiveness on attentional and executive abilities.

METHODS: Children and adolescents with ADHD, diagnosed using the K-SADS-PL questionnaire was involved in the study. The CRT program was administered for an average period of fourteen weeks with a rate of one session per week of 40 minutes each. The Attentional Network Test was administered prior to the intervention and one week after.

RESULTS: Of the 30 patients included, 14 had reached the end of the program. Among them, nine patients passed the attentional test post CRT, thus constituting our final sample. Their average age was 9 years. The mean number of sessions performed was 14.5. Post CRT, the mean of patient's response time was found to be shorter (p=0,004) and the frequency of omissions errors was also lesser than that found at the initial assessment. Patients also committed fewer errors in incongruent situations in post program, with a significant improvement of the conflict effect (p= 0.009) signing a better executive control.

CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive remediation is a promising new modality in the treatment of ADHD. Further research is needed to better document its effects and the optimal conditions required for setting it up.