Detection of neurodevelopmental diversity in memory clinics-Validation of a self-report measure. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental learning and attentional disorders (NLAD) such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affect at least 6% of the adult population or more. They are associated with atypical cognitive patterns in early and adult life. The cognitive patterns of affected individuals in late life have never been described. One main challenge is detecting individuals in clinical settings during which mild cognitive changes could be confounding the clinical presentation. This is a critical research gap because these conditions interact, across the life course, with an individual's risk for dementia. Also, learning disabilities which present in childhood pose persistent cognitive differences in areas involving executive function, reading and math. Clinicians lack tools to detect undiagnosed neurodevelopmental in adults with memory disorders. The majority of patients presenting at memory clinics today come from a generation during which NLAD were not yet clinically recognized. In this study, we hypothesized that a self-report scale can detect NLAD in a memory clinic population. METHODS: We developed a self-report, retrospective childhood cognitive questionnaire including key attributes adapted from prior validated measures. 233 participants were included in the primary analysis. RESULTS: Confirmatory Factor Analysis resulted in a best-fit model with six labelled factors (Math, Language, Attention, Working Memory, Sequential Processing, and Executive Function) and 15 total question items. The model demonstrated unidimensionality, reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. Using 1.5 standard deviations as the cut-off, subjects were categorized into: Normal (n = 169), Language (n = 10), Math (n = 12), Attention (n = 10) or Other/Mixed (n = 32). CONCLUSION: A self-report measure can be a useful tool to elicit childhood cognitive susceptibilities in various domains that could represent NLAD among patients in a memory clinic setting, even in the presence of mild cognitive impairment.

publication date

  • April 16, 2018

Research

keywords

  • Attention
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
  • Dyscalculia
  • Dyslexia
  • Executive Function
  • Language
  • Mathematics
  • Memory, Short-Term

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85045564179

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.009

PubMed ID

  • 29660590

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 77