Funciones ejecutivas y motivacion de ninos con trastorno de espectro autista (TEA) y trastorno por deficit de atencion con hiperactividad (TDAH)
Objectives. To compare the profile of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined presentation, on executive functioning (EF) and behaviors associated with learning. Method. Sixteen children with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD and 16 children with a clinical diagnosis of high functioning ASD who had been diagnosed in the Child Neurology Services of Valencian Community participated in this study. The ages ranged from 7 to 11 years. Ninety four percent were male and 6% female and all were educated in regular classrooms. The two groups were matched on age and intellectual ability. Teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function; BRIEF; Gioia et al. 2000) which assesses a wide range of executive functions and the Learning Behaviour Scale (LBS; McDermott et al. 1999) which provides information on motivation, attitude toward learning, attention/persistence and strategy/flexibility Results. Children with ADHD had significantly more difficulties than children with ASD in working memory and planning. Furthermore, although both groups experienced problems beyond expected, children with ADHD were more affected on overall index of EF, metacognition and behavioral regulation. Regarding learning behaviors, although no significant differences were found between ASD and ADHD, the percentage of cases impaired was greater in children with ADHD, except for the strategy/flexibility factor. Conclusions. Implications of the findings are discussed to optimize teaching strategies in children with ASD and ADHD.