Spatial Ability in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its Impact on Executive Functions.

Abstract Background Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with deficits in cognitive functions. Spatial ability (SA) which plays a crucial role in different domains of academic and daily life is constructed with eight separate and unified factors. Method: The first objective of this study was to explore differences in SA factors in 128 school children of third to sixth grade with and without ADHD. The second objective of the study was to explore the SA factors' ability to predict the performance of ADHD participants in three executive functions. The Flexibility of Closure, Closure Speed, Perceptual Speed, Visualization, Spatial Relation, Spatial Orientation, Spatial Temporal, and Wayfinding were measured through eight tasks. Results Participants with ADHD were less accurate in all the tasks except Spatial Temporal task, and their reaction time was more in Visualization, Spatial Relation, and Spatial Orientation tasks comparing to children with typical development. Regression analysis exhibited that some of SA factors were able to predict working memory and cognitive flexibility, but they could not predict response inhibition. Conclusion Regarding these results, it seems necessary for specialists to include assessment of all SA factors and to train them in cognitive rehabilitation programs for children with ADHD.