Attentional Mechanisms in Autism, ADHD, and Autism-ADHD Using a Local–Global Paradigm

Belinda Anne Gargaro; Tamara May; Bruce John Tonge; Dianne Melinda Sheppard; John Lockyer Bradshaw; Nicole Joan Rinehart

doi:10.1177/1087054715603197

Attentional Mechanisms in Autism, ADHD, and Autism-ADHD Using a Local–Global Paradigm

Belinda Anne Gargaro, Tamara May, Bruce John Tonge, Dianne Melinda Sheppard, John Lockyer Bradshaw, Nicole Joan Rinehart

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility or attentional set-shifting capacity has long been considered a core area of executive dysfunction for individuals with autism. Whether these difficulties are due to higher-level attentional difficulties associated with comorbid ADHD remains unclear. Method: The current study compared the performance of 48 participants with autism, ADHD, autism-ADHD, and a comparison group (N = 12 per group) on a set-shifting task, which included a local?global paradigm. Results: Results of this study revealed that participants with attentional difficulties (autism + ADHD and ADHD alone) exhibited a significant shifting cost (difference between maintaining and shifting attention). Conclusion: Attentional difficulties associated with ADHD may be associated with an enhanced attentional shifting cost. Implications of these results were discussed in relation to screening for ADHD symptoms in studies of individuals with autism which seek to determine the neuropsychological profile of this condition

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1320-1332
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Attention Disorders
Volume	22
Issue number	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054715603197
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2018

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10.1177/1087054715603197

Cite this

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title = "Attentional Mechanisms in Autism, ADHD, and Autism-ADHD Using a Local–Global Paradigm",

abstract = "Cognitive flexibility or attentional set-shifting capacity has long been considered a core area of executive dysfunction for individuals with autism. Whether these difficulties are due to higher-level attentional difficulties associated with comorbid ADHD remains unclear. Method: The current study compared the performance of 48 participants with autism, ADHD, autism-ADHD, and a comparison group (N = 12 per group) on a set-shifting task, which included a local?global paradigm. Results: Results of this study revealed that participants with attentional difficulties (autism + ADHD and ADHD alone) exhibited a significant shifting cost (difference between maintaining and shifting attention). Conclusion: Attentional difficulties associated with ADHD may be associated with an enhanced attentional shifting cost. Implications of these results were discussed in relation to screening for ADHD symptoms in studies of individuals with autism which seek to determine the neuropsychological profile of this condition",

author = "Gargaro, {Belinda Anne} and Tamara May and Tonge, {Bruce John} and Sheppard, {Dianne Melinda} and Bradshaw, {John Lockyer} and Rinehart, {Nicole Joan}",

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AU - Bradshaw, John Lockyer

AU - Rinehart, Nicole Joan

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