Search

Objective: The current review sought to synthesise and evaluate ADHD guidelines to identify recommended procedures for co-occurring and differential diagnosis for ADHD assessments of school aged children. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted by searching PsycInfo, Medline, CINAHL and Web of Science. A grey literature search was also performed. ADHD guidelines that described a diagnostic process for school aged children, published between 2013 and 2021, by Government organisations or a national professional association, and written in English were included. Results: Each of the six included guidelines were produced by panels consisting primarily of paediatricians and psychiatrists. All guidelines recommended assessing for co-occurring conditions. Five of the guidelines recommended consideration of a differential diagnosis. Five guidelines also recommended referral to a specialist, mental health clinician or psychologist when diagnostic uncertainty exists. Conclusions: Guidelines to assist in the assessment of referred cases were not discovered. There is a need for recommendations to be developed to supplement existing guidelines to aid psychologists and mental health clinicians in a systematic ADHD assessment process, particularly in complex cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive behaviour has been viewed broadly as an individual's ability to meet the standards of social responsibilities and independence; however, this definition has been a source of debate amongst researchers and clinicians. Based on the rich history and the importance of the construct of adaptive behaviour, the current study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the application of adaptive behaviour models to assessment tools, through a systematic review. A plethora of assessment measures for adaptive behaviour have been developed in order to adequately assess the construct; however, it appears that the only definition on which authors seem to agree is that adaptive behaviour is what adaptive behaviour scales measure. The importance of the construct for diagnosis, intervention and planning has been highlighted throughout the literature. It is recommended that researchers and clinicians critically review what measures of adaptive behaviour they are utilising and it is suggested that the definition and theory is revisited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of children have a parent with a mental illness (COPMI). These children are at higher risk of acquiring behavioural, developmental and emotional difficulties. Most children, including COPMI, have low levels of mental health literacy (MHL), meaning they do not have accurate, non-stigmatized information. There is limited knowledge about what kind of MHL content should be delivered to children. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the knowledge content needed for general population children and COPMI to increase their MHL. A second aim is to explore content for emerging children's MHL scales. Researchers created and analyzed a literature review database. Thematic analysis yielded five main mental health knowledge themes for children: (1) attaining an overview of mental illness and recovery; (2) reducing mental health stigma; (3) building developmental resiliencies; (4) increasing help-seeking capacities; and (5) identifying risk factors for mental illness. COPMI appeared to need the same kind of MHL knowledge content, but with extra family-contextual content such as dealing with stigma experiences, managing stress, and communicating about parental mental illness. There is a need for MHL programs, validated scales, and research on what works for prevention and early intervention with COPMI children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-based mindfulness interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing mental health symptoms. However, comparatively little research has investigated the acceptability of these programs from the perspective of the children. Program acceptability underpins engagement, and more engaging programs are also more efficacious (Cowan & Sheridan, 2003; Mautone et al., 2009) yet there is little literature which has considered the acceptability of school-based mindfulness programs. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with upper primary aged children (N = 30) who had participated in a six week mindfulness program in four Australian primary schools. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed children found the program to be acceptable. Children reported that they enjoyed doing the mindfulness program, would recommend it to others, and learned about relaxing as well as felt relaxed while doing the program. Children also highlighted the use of culturally appropriate teaching materials and possible stigmatisation as threats to the acceptability of the program. The results of the study support the acceptability of mindfulness programs in school settings, grounded in the unique perspective of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing interest in differences in thinking, much less is known about differences in how children think and how they come to think. The aim of this scoping review is to map out the key concepts underpinning the conceptual boundaries of children's (5–12 years of age) individual differences in thinking. The scoping review identified eight papers for analysis; all of which were set in an educational context. The findings presented inconclusive results regarding learning and thinking differences related to students' academic achievement. This review has identified two main drawbacks with this research area. Firstly, there is little consensus between the models employed to understand the different ways children think. To further place these findings into context we look at conceptualisations of individual differences, where individuality is considered a process of stable characteristics interacting with more dynamic structures. This analysis highlights the second drawback, previous research has solely focused on exploring thinking characteristics that are not stable and are therefore subject to change depending on the context. The review found that there is little to no research which explores thinking preferences in children that are consistent across contexts and time. Moreover, there was no research identified that explored the impact of differences in thinking outside the educational domain, such as children's wellbeing. Further research is required to identify the more stable characteristics that reflect and capture children's different ways of thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]