Metacognitive knowledge of attention in children with and without ADHD symptoms

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities 2018-12, Vol.83, p.142-152
• Main Authors: Pezzica, Sara, Vezzani, Claudio, Pinto, Giuliana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADHD; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Behavior Therapy - methods; Child; Child Behavior - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Metacognition; Neuropsychological Tests; Pictorial indicator; Pictorial Works as Topic - psychology; Population; Schools
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.08.005

•Children with ADHD have a metacognitive awareness of attention similar to N-ADHD, except for posture, school materials and negative feelings.•The percentages of N-ADHD and ADHD children using “state of mind” codes are similar, but in the ADHD group we did not find any progress.•Children with ADHD seem to be aware of what is required in school, nevertheless they have a difficulty in organizing materials. Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) experience difficulty in managing attention in school, but it is not sufficiently clear what their attentional beliefs are. Drawing is a means of expression that is habitually used to access knowledge or ideas of children regarding their classroom experience. The aim of this study is to verify whether children with ADHD use pictorial indicators analogous to children without ADHD (N-ADHD). 92 primary school students participated in this study, half of whom diagnosed with ADHD. Children were asked to produce two specific thematic drawings on attention vs. inattention; their pictorial representations were analyzed using the Children’s Awareness of Attention through Drawing (CAAD). The analysis showed principally that children with ADHD have a metacognitive awareness of attention similar to N-ADHD except for a delay in acquisition of the correct posture, for less maturation in the management of school materials and greater expression of negative feelings over time. Children with ADHD are aware of what is required in the school context but they are not able to pursue it. Behavioral intervention and structured learning are two targets of intervention that can help children with ADHD to adapt and to stay at school.