Valutazione dei processi cognitivi nel disturbo da deficit di attenzione e iperattività

In the diagnosis of the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), con- centration is still focused on behaviour, rather than on cognitive or neuropsychology manifesta- tions, even if new research suggests that clearer diagnoses of the cognitive processes of ADHD might be taken into consideration in the next DSM. The Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Succession Theory (PASS) redefines the concept of human intelligence through a multidimen- sional approach, derived from neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. In this light, PASS Theory inspired methods of subject evaluation, applied to ADHD verify a) the usefulness of this theory in evaluating subjects affected by this pathology; b) if weaknesses in Planning and Attention Processes are present in the methods; c) if Pass Theory might be useful in the diagnosis and differentiation of the three subtypes of ADHD; d), for those subjects whose medical records contain intelligence evaluation, the independence of IQ from the PASS processes.Method: The sample used in the study was composed of 20 subjects, ages ranging from 6 to 14; each subject having ADHD and the absence of comorbidity. CAS was employed to evaluate the cognitive processes of the subject group, of which a subgroup of 16 subjects with WISC-r was evaluated. Results: The CAS profiles demonstrate that in all four processes, the subjects scored lowered than the mean, especially in the Planning and Attention Process. Moreover, the evaluation of subject IQs shows an average profile, while the CAS profiles differ slightly amongst subjects with parti- cularly low planning and attention processes. Discussion and conclusions: The data indicates that subjects affected by ADHD could show some dysfunction in the Planning and Attention Processes. The results seem to supply some initial indications about the potential of CAS to find a particular cognitive profile among the subjects and a promising power to differentiate findings and observations of the three ADHD subtypes.