Clinical trial NCT00930449: Effects Of A Computerized Working Memory Training Program On Attention, Working Memory, And Academics, In Adolescents With Severe ADHD/LD
Official title: Effects Of A Computerized Working Memory Training Program On Attention, Working Memory, And Academics, In Adolescents With Severe ADHD/LD
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity
Learning Disorders
Keywords: Pediatrics
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Learning Disorder
Computerized Working Memory Training Program
Lead sponsor: The Hospital for Sick Children
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
First posted: 2009-06-30
Enrollment: 120
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 12
Maximum age (years): 17
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Our primary aim is to determine whether a computerized working memory (WM) training program will help students with severe learning and attention problems, in terms of improving their WM. Additional aims are to determine whether the WM training will also result in improvements in the students' concentration and school work, and how long any beneficial effects will last (i.e., whether the students will continue to show improvements once the training program has stopped).

Detailed description: We have established a collaborative partnership between OISE, HSC, OPDS, and JVS to evaluate the effectiveness of a WM training program when conducted in a school setting. To determine whether the WM training program does improve WM, attention, behaviour, and/or academic achievement, we will compare its effects to those expected to result from two other intervention programs that focus on academic skills only: 1) a computerized software program known to improve math skills (Academy of Math®); and 2) extra, individualized tutoring in an area of academic weakness supervised by a trained and experienced staff person. We will assess WM, related cognitive abilities, ADHD symptoms, academic achievement, before and after intervention, and also at 3- and 6-month follow-up to determine whether any improvements are sustained and increased after the training has finished.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* fulltime enrollment at one of the three English-language speaking OPDS schools
* confirmed diagnosis of a specific LD with or without comorbid ADHD
* IQ \> 80 (based on WISC-IV)
* English as the primary spoken language

Exclusion Criteria:

* uncorrected sensory impairments (vision, hearing)
* severe comorbid mental health disorders requiring medications other than those used for ADHD or intensive treatment
* severe impairments in oral communication, impeding intelligibility of spoken responses

Primary outcomes:
measure: CANTAB Spatial Working Memory
timeFrame: 15-20 min
measure: Automated Working Memory Assessment Listening Recall
timeFrame: 15-20 min
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Teacher - Strengths and Weakness of ADHD-symptoms and Normal-behavior scale (SWAN)
timeFrame: 5 min/student
measure: Teacher - Children's Organizational Skills Scale
timeFrame: 5 min/student
measure: Wide Range Achievement Test 4 Progress Monitoring Version: word reading, spelling, sentence comprehension, math computation
timeFrame: 10-15 min
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Milton
country: Canada
facility: Ontario Provincial and Demonstration Schools
state: Ontario
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: The Hospital for Sick Children
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Canada
name: Rosemary Tannock, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: