Working memory training in children with neuropsychiatric disorders and mild to borderline intellectual disabilities

Working memory training (WMT) has been shown to offer therapeutic benefits to both patients with ADHD and patients with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disabilities (MBID;60

-Children who receive the more prolonged working memory training with personalized coaching have less behavioural problems (VISK, AVL, BRIEF) after the training compared to children who receive the more prolonged working memory training without personalized coaching.
- Children who receive the more prolonged working memory training with personalized coaching show more improvent in neurocognitive functioning (working memory: spatial span, backward digit recall, listening recall; Executive functioning: Sustained Attention Dots, Go-Nogo; Transfer effect: begrip van instructie) after the training compared to children who receive the more prolonged working memory training without personalized coaching.
- Children who receive the more prolonged working memory training with personalized coaching will have better scores in school achievement (Arithmetic:Tempo Toets Rekenen; reading: Brus 1 minuut) after the training compared to children who receive the more prolonged working memory training without personlized coaching.

The primary outcome and secondary outcomes will be measured three times; once before the working memory training, one week after completing the working memory training and six months after completing the working memory training. The timepoints are equal for participants in the intervention and placebo condition.

In a double blind randomized controlled trial, two groups with 25 children will train 8 weeks, 4 days a week for an average of 35 minutes (5 exercises) each day. Parents, children and teachers will be blind for the allocation to one of the two groups, i.e. active personalized coaching and feedback or no personalized (only general non-personalized coaching) coaching. Before and after training, all children will undergo a behavioral and neurocognitive assessment including academic achievement measures (pre- en post- assessment). In the week after the last session, the post-assessment will be done and an evaluation of the training will take place. Six months after the last training session there will be a follow-up.
a)One group will be treated with a less intensive but more prolonged version of the Cogmed © WMT, version R/M and will receive active personalized coaching and feedback each week based on their actual performance during the training.

b)One group will be treated with a less intensive but more prolonged version of the Cogmed © WMT, version R/M. They will receive the same amount of coaching time, but without personalized (only general non-personalized coaching) coaching.
Cogmed © WMT has been developed by Cogmed Cognitive Medical Systems AB (Stockholm, Sweden). Pearson is the official publisher for the Netherlands for Cogmed. BeterBrein provides the educational program to become a licensed Cogmed coach.