Online Response Inhibition Training for Children with Williams Syndrome: Patterns of Practice Performance
Mentor 1
Bonita P. Klein-Tasman
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
29-4-2016 1:30 PM
End Date
29-4-2016 3:30 PM
Description
Introduction: Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that affects many aspects of life including physical, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics including a high comorbidity with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD have shown improved response inhibition performance after computerized cognitive training; however, no such studies have included individuals with WS to investigate possible inhibition improvement with computerized training. Methods: In this study, 22 children with WS, 12 boys and 10 girls (age range: 11-17 years) participated in an online pilot intervention aimed at improving response inhibition through cognitive training. Children completed a computer-based Go/No-Go task designed to measure response inhibition abilities both before and after completing the 10-session computer ‘game’ targeting different dimensions of response inhibition. Preparation for the Go/No-Go task completion involved three practice rounds in which a child was given five attempts per round to respond with 100 percent accuracy before moving on to the next round. Total accuracy of the practice and the percent of incorrect No-Go trials (commission errors) will be examined, as will parental ratings of ADHD symptoms measured by the Conners-3 [Conners, 2008]. Results: Not all participants have yet completed the follow-up tasks, however current analysis of the data shows a small trend level effect for improvement between the baseline and follow-up practices in regards to commission errors. Additional analyses will examine predictors of baseline performance as well as other improvement scores. Discussion: Identifying the potential for response inhibition improvement based on practice performance on the Go/No-Go task will assist with the development of intervention programs for individuals with WS.
Online Response Inhibition Training for Children with Williams Syndrome: Patterns of Practice Performance
Union Wisconsin Room
Introduction: Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that affects many aspects of life including physical, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics including a high comorbidity with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD have shown improved response inhibition performance after computerized cognitive training; however, no such studies have included individuals with WS to investigate possible inhibition improvement with computerized training. Methods: In this study, 22 children with WS, 12 boys and 10 girls (age range: 11-17 years) participated in an online pilot intervention aimed at improving response inhibition through cognitive training. Children completed a computer-based Go/No-Go task designed to measure response inhibition abilities both before and after completing the 10-session computer ‘game’ targeting different dimensions of response inhibition. Preparation for the Go/No-Go task completion involved three practice rounds in which a child was given five attempts per round to respond with 100 percent accuracy before moving on to the next round. Total accuracy of the practice and the percent of incorrect No-Go trials (commission errors) will be examined, as will parental ratings of ADHD symptoms measured by the Conners-3 [Conners, 2008]. Results: Not all participants have yet completed the follow-up tasks, however current analysis of the data shows a small trend level effect for improvement between the baseline and follow-up practices in regards to commission errors. Additional analyses will examine predictors of baseline performance as well as other improvement scores. Discussion: Identifying the potential for response inhibition improvement based on practice performance on the Go/No-Go task will assist with the development of intervention programs for individuals with WS.
