Effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation Program Based on Prospective Memory on the Attention Rate in the Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The ability of selective attention does not develop well in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the short attention span leads to incomplete assignments and plans and causes their attention to be constantly shifted from one activity to another. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation program based on prospective memory on the attention span in children with ADHD.

Present study was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control group design. The sample included 32 children with ADHD aged 8-11 years old in Kermanshah city in the academic year 2017-2018. They were selected by convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group received eighteen 40-min sessions of cognitive rehabilitation program based on prospective memory, while the control group remained on the waiting list. The instruments were Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (Revised) (Conner, 1999), clinical interview, and Stroop Color and Word Test (Stroop, 1953). Data were analyzed by MANCOVA.

The results showed that cognitive rehabilitation program based on prospective memory had a significant positive effect on the attention rate of children with ADHD (P<0.0001).

The use of cognitive rehabilitation program based on prospective memory was associated with positive and effective results and significantly improved the attention in the children. Therefore, use of this program in the treatment procedure of children with ADHD is suggested.