Beery VMI and Brain Volumetric Relations in Autism Spectrum Disorder Abstract Although diminished proficiency on tasks that require visual-motor integration (VMI) has been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), very few studies have examined the association between VMI performance and neuroanatomical regions of interest (ROI) involved in motor and perceptual functioning. To address these issues, the current study included an all-male sample of 41 ASD (ages 3–23 years) and 27 typically developing (TD) participants (ages 5–26 years) who completed the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery VMI) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. All participants underwent 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with image quantification (FreeSurfer software v5.3). The groups were statistically matched on age, handedness, and intracranial volume (ICV). ASD participants performed significantly lower on VMI and IQ measures compared with the TD group. VMI performance was significantly correlated with FSIQ and PIQ in the TD group only. No pre-defined neuroanatomical ROIs were significantly different between groups. Significant correlations were observed in the TD group between VMI and total precentral gyrus gray matter volume (r = .51, p = .006) and total frontal lobe gray matter volume (r = .46, p = .017). There were no significant ROI correlations with Beery VMI performance in ASD participants. At the group level, despite ASD participants exhibiting reduced visuomotor abilities, no systematic relation with motor or sensory-perceptual ROIs was observed. In the TD group, results were consistent with the putative role of the precentral gyrus in motor control along with frontal involvement in planning, organization, and execution monitoring, all essential for VMI performance. Given that similar associations between VMI and ROIs were not observed in those with ASD, neurodevelopment in ASD group participants may not follow homogenous patterns making correlations in these brain regions unlikely to be observed.

Gender Matters in Neuropsychological Assessment of Child and Adolescent Writing Skill Abstract Gender differences in Cattell-Horn-Carroll cognitive explanatory variables of basic writing skills and written expression in children and adolescents in grades 1–12 were explored using multiple-group structural equation modeling with the standardization samples for the Woodcock Johnson IV (N = 3569). Results showed small female advantages in cognitive processing speed and written expression across grade levels. Crystallized ability, fluid reasoning, short-term working memory, processing speed, and auditory processing were significant predictors of basic writing skills with learning efficiency showing stronger effects on basic writing skills for males compared to females in grades 9–12. Additionally, fluid reasoning, short-term working memory, processing speed, learning efficiency, and visual processing were significant predictors of written expression. Processing speed had stronger effects on written expression for males compared to females in grades 9–12, whereas auditory processing had stronger effects on written expression for females compared to males in grades 9–12. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.

Using the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System Tower Test to Examine ADHD Sensitivity in Children: Expanding Analysis Beyond the Summary Score Abstract Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects many children and is commonly regarded as a disorder of executive function (EF; Willcutt et al. Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1336–1346, 2005). EF is thought to be housed primarily within the brain’s prefrontal cortex (PFC), with different areas of the PFC orchestrating different EF components (Jurado and Rosselli Neuropsychology Review, 17, 213–233, 2007). Key PFC areas for this study included the dorsolateral PFC and orbitofrontal cortex. A measure on the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), the Tower Test, has been infrequently studied with child populations, particularly those with ADHD. The limited research that does exist has primarily focused on the Tower’s summary score, overlooking available optional scores. The current study involved investigation of Tower performance in children ages 8 to 18 with ADHD (n = 252) to look for impaired scores, examine correlations with common ADHD measures, and compare Tower scores to clinical (n = 49) and normative controls (n = 110). Children with ADHD showed deficits on multiple Tower scores. Notably, more than half of the children with ADHD scored more than 1 standard deviation below the norm on the Move Accuracy Ratio (MAR) score, and children younger than 14 completed the Tower less efficiently than older children (i.e., lower MAR). Lower MAR scores were also correlated with higher parent ratings of inhibition on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and more errors of impulsivity on the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test, second edition (CPT II). Normative controls significantly outperformed children with ADHD on five of six Tower measures. The sensitivity of these optional measures was evident even while the total score was not sensitive to group differences, which highlights the importance of analyzing Tower optional scores and underscores the need for future research applying similar methods.

Measuring Visual, Spatial, and Visual Spatial Short-Term Memory in Schoolchildren: Studying the Influence of Demographic Factors and Regression-Based Normative Data Abstract The study aims to establish demographically corrected norms for three computerized tasks measuring different aspects of visual short-term memory (VSTM) in Ukrainian schoolchildren. These tasks measure respectively visual STM (the Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM) test), spatial STM (the Spatial Span (SSP) task), and visual spatial STM (the Paired Associates Learning (PAL) task). All tasks were administered to n = 186 children aged 5.10 years to 14.5 years old to evaluate the influence of demographic variables. Relevant demographic factors that influence task scores (VSTM), i.e., age and level of parental education, are identified and in keeping with the current literature. No sex differences were found. Based on these data, regression-based, demographically corrected norms were established per task. This approach to constructing norms differs from how (worldwide) PRM, SSP, and/or PAL norms have been constructed traditionally. In the latter approach, norms are calculated for each age group separately and without correcting for level of parental education, whereas in the regression-based normative method, multiple regression models are used to compute the expected test scores of an individual (rather than the subgroup means that are used in the traditional approach). Consequently, the regression-based norms for the PRM, SSP, and PAL presented in this paper are individualized, taking into account the unique characteristics of the individual that is tested on these tasks. Last, the confidence intervals of the PRM scores of the Ukrainian schoolchildren and the western norm group largely overlapped, except for the youngest age group, which adds to the literature about cultural effects on cognition.

Review of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Review of The Complexity of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Peer-Reviewed Science and the Specialty of Pediatric Neuropsychology

The Progression of Memory Loss Secondary to TBI-Induced White Matter Attenuation: a Review of the Literature and Case Exemplar Abstract While it is axiomatic that the major cognitive symptomology of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) of any severity appears shortly after the insult, there is increasing evidence that suggests that, for a subset of individuals with TBI, the course post-injury does not follow what has been traditionally anticipated. Increasingly, longitudinal studies of neurocognitive and neurobehavioral outcomes from TBI demonstrate a highly variable course, which for some continue for a much longer time after the damage associated with TBI lesions would be assumed to have reached a steady state. Chronic neuroinflammatory processes have been identified as one potential source of the continuing decline. We review the literature on chronic inflammatory processes and, in addition, report on the case of a 12-year-old male who sustained a left-temporal lobe displaced skull fracture, with an underlying hemorrhage, when he was hit in the left temporal region of the head by a thrown baseball. Although the youth reported difficulty with memory immediately post-injury, the initial neuropsychological evaluation conducted 6 weeks post-injury yielded data demonstrating that the memory functioning was unaffected by the injury. Testing 3 years later indicated significant memory loss. The course of decline in memory functioning in this instance challenges commonly held conceptualizations concerning the immediacy of memory loss post-TBI and our ability to accurately measure the process as it unfolds.

Understanding and Serving Adolescent Females with Emotional Disabilities and Executive Dysfunction in a Residential Treatment Setting Abstract Executive functioning has become an important part of helping to understand and serve students with academic and emotional disabilities (EDs). This study sought to understand the profile of female student with ED in a residential treatment center. First, the study investigated the validity of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Parent Rating Scale (BRIEF). The BRIEF is an 86-item checklist that covered eight different aspects of EF. Each item was a statement in which the case manager of each of the 93 students responded never, sometimes, or often. These scales included (1) inhibit, (2) shift, (3) emotional control, (4) initiate, (5) working memory, (6) plan/organize, (7) organization of materials, and (8) monitor. The majority of the 93 participants demonstrated executive dysfunction. Next, divergent validity of the BRIEF was investigated using a principal components analysis. The Basic Academic Skills Inventory (BASI) was used to evaluate the reading and math abilities of participants. The relationship between the BRIEF and the BASI was investigated using a correlation analysis. One factor best explained the structure of the BRIEF and correlated moderately with measures of academics. It is clear that executive functioning is a critical area that we must consider as part of our usual psychological evaluation/intervention tools. Many students with emotional and academic difficulties will benefit from executive functioning interventions such as directing student attention, help in planning, and homework organization management skills. How these findings should relate to the role of school and clinical psychologists will be addressed.

Accepted Abstracts for Presentation at the AAPdN Annual Conference April 12–14, Las Vegas, NV