Understanding and supporting neurodevelopmental needs: a systematic review of prospective memory in children and adults with ADHD; and, An investigation of the underlying cognitive mechanisms of stress appraisal of classroom assistants and teachers of autistic students
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Date
02/09/2022Author
Sheppard, Daniel
Metadata
Abstract
The needs of neurodiverse populations are inherently atypical and often complex. To
better understand and support such populations, it is necessary to better understand
neurodiverse individuals’ abilities and difficulties in tasks critical to navigating daily life.
Furthermore, it is important to consider the key figures in the systems around neurodiverse
individuals, and factors that may influence their confidence and well-being when supporting
them.
Chapter One of the current thesis systematically reviews evidence of prospective
memory (PM) ability, in children, adolescents and adults with a diagnosis of attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). PM involves remembering to execute plans at the
appropriate moment, such as taking medication at the correct time, and so is critical to
successful daily life. Fourteen studies were identified from systematic searches of the
literature; nine involving children and adolescents, and five involving adults. Overall, results
demonstrated a general PM deficit for all age groups with ADHD, compared to neurotypical
controls. Performance was mostly in line with the Multiprocess Framework; specifically, that
PM is disproportionality more difficult for those with limited executive capacity on tasks
assumed to place more demand on executive functioning (e.g., time-based tasks, or tasks with
low cue salience). Consideration is then given to these results in how they may inform the
design and implementation of strategies to support PM in the ADHD population, including
cognitive “offloading” (e.g., setting reminders), PM and executive functioning training and
environmental adaptations.
Chapter 2 reports the results of a cross-sectional study, the primary aim of which was
to investigate the role of teacher and classroom assistant self-efficacy, specific to autism (SE-ASC), in explaining the relationship between autism knowledge and stress appraisal of
classroom incidents involving autistic pupils. Two hundred and seven responses were
acquired via an online questionnaire. Autism knowledge was not associated with any other
construct, requiring unplanned, exploratory analysis. Results revealed SE-ASC to be a
significant (negative) predictor of negative, but not positive, stress appraisal. The same
(non)significant relationships were found in the other direction; negative, but not positive,
stress appraisal (negatively) predicted SE-ASC. Pupil age, school-type (e.g., mainstream vs
specialist school) and autism training also predicted SE-ASC. Finally, between-group
analysis revealed teachers indicated significantly higher levels of positive stress appraisal
than classroom assistants. However, both groups were parallel on scores of SE-ASC and
autism knowledge. These results indicate the importance of SE-ASC in the perceived stress
of teachers and classroom assistants when supporting autistic pupils, and of the potential
importance of factors such as school-type and training in contributing to higher levels of SE ASC.
Together, these chapters highlight the daily functioning difficulties of neurodiverse
populations, particularly those with executive functioning impairments, and the factors that
potentially contribute to the confidence and perceived stress when supporting them.