Neuropsychological characteristics and theory of mind in ADHD and normal students

Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment considers symptoms in an individual, based on the understanding of structure and function of the brain, and can lead to a better understanding of the symptoms, and eventually more effective treatment recommendations. The aim of this research was to study and compare the neuropsychological character and theory of mind as well as the correlation between them in ADHD and normal children.
This was a casual-comparative study. 25 ADHD children were selected through convenience sampling and 25 normal children were selected through cluster sampling. Finally, the Connors Neuropsychological Inventory and Theory of Mind Test were applied to assess the participants. The data were analyzed through multivariate, t test, and Pearson correlation.
Our findings showed that there is a significant difference between these two groups in terms of the theory of mind and the three subscales of the neuropsychological inventory (attention problem (P=0.001), executive function (P=0.0001), and reading function (P=0.027). ADHD children had lower efficiency than normal children did in theory of mind (P=0.009) and the three subscales of the neuropsychological inventory. However, there was no correlation between neuropsychological characteristics and theory of mind in ADHD and normal children.
It can be concluded that neuropsychological tests can be used as a complement to behavioral tests for diagnostic assessment of ADHD children. In addition, it was observed that ADHD children require rehabilitations program focused on academic performance, attention problems, and reading performance, as well as theory of mind. Hence, the necessary measures should be taken for these children.