Assessment of visual-spatial skills in children and adolescents with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder with neuropsychological tests and self-report scales and determination of their relationship with quality of life

Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is one of the most common diseases in child and adolescent psychiatric clinical practice. In recent years investigations and researches for ADHD focus on impairment of executive functions. Visual disturbances in ADHD are also seen at a higher rate than those without ADHD. In this study, it was aimed to measure visual spatial skills of children and adolescents with ADHD with color and colorless neuropsychological tests and to evaluate this with their quality of life and vision skills. The survey was conducted between April 2017 and January 2018 in Bolu and Bursa. The groups consisted of children and adolescents aged 10-18 (ADHD = 41, Control = 45). Parents were filled with the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale-Parent Form (WFIRS-P) and the Turgay DSM-IV Disruptive Behavior Disorders Symptom Screening Scale. Children were evaluated with the K-SADS-PL form, the Stroop- TBAG Form, the Benton Judgement of Line Orientation Test (BJLOT), and The Visual Activities Questionnaire (VAQ). Study data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 program using parametric or nonparametric methods according to distributional characteristics in intergroup comparisons. The mean age was 13.4 (SD = 2.0) in the control group and 12.8 (SD = 2.0) years in the ADHD group. Gender distribution in the ADHD group; male ratio was 75.6% and female was 24.4% (male = 31, female = 10). In the female group, ADHD-DE was the most common type (60.0%), whereas ADHD-combined type was more common in male group (64.5%). At least one comorbidity was found in 58.5% (n = 24) of this ADHD group. According to the frequency of comorbidities detected; Oppositional Defiant Disorder (% 41,5 n=17), Conduct Disorder (% 19,5 n=8), Major Depressive Disorder (% 7,3 n=3), Separation Anxiety Disorder (%4,9 n = 17), and Specific Phobia (4,9% n = 2). TBAG-1 duration in Stroop-TBAG form; TBAG-2 duration; TBAG-3; TBAG-4; TBAG-5 duration, error and correction were found high in the ADHD group. The ADHD-Inattentive types differ significantly in terms of error and correction numbers in the second part of the test. ADHD group performed higher problems with Benton Judgement of Line Orientation Test than controls. In all subscales of WFIRS-P shows that the scores of ADHD group were significantly higher than controls. ADHD cases reported a higher level of problem in all subscales except glare disability. In ADHD group, self-reported light-dark adaptation problems and WFIRS-P risk behaviors subscale show negative correlation. Visual scanning and processing speed correlate positively with self-perception. It has been showed that ADHD affects family functioning and ODD has an effect on family functioning in addition to ADHD. In children with ADHD, it was seen that there were problems in perceiving color and colorless visual stimuli. Children with ADHD have reported common problems with visual functioning in their daytime lives in their self-report when the visual disturbances are controlled. Key Words: ADHD, executive functions, Benton Judgement of Line Orientation, Stroop, Weiss