The few reports on the language skills of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) offer conflicting evidence on whether they face significant challenges, and if so, whether these challenges are present in all aspects of language. Here, we investigated a sample of Greek-speaking children with ADHD ( n = 29) using a structural language (vocabulary, grammar) and a pragmatic language assessment. To ascertain the extent of strengths and weaknesses, we compared the performance of children with ADHD to typically developing (TD) peers ( n = 29) and also to children with developmental language disorder (DLD; n = 25), who face challenges particularly in structural language. As regards structural language, ADHD children performed significantly lower than their TD peers but significantly higher than the DLD group. In pragmatics, ADHD children performed numerically lower than any other group, but differences did not reach statistical significance. Children with ADHD face difficulties with language skills and especially with structural language. Sophisticated linguistic assessment is crucial, as it facilitates the identification of children with different challenges by measuring performances on distinct components. Language difficulties in ADHD should not be overlooked but must be evaluated thoroughly for more effective intervention planning.

Background The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a fundamental reexamination of how human psychological research can be conducted safely and robustly in a new era of digital working and physical distancing. Online web-based testing has risen to the forefront as a promising solution for the rapid mass collection of cognitive data without requiring human contact. However, a long-standing debate exists over the data quality and validity of web-based studies. This study examines the opportunities and challenges afforded by the societal shift toward web-based testing and highlights an urgent need to establish a standard data quality assurance framework for online studies. Objective This study aims to develop and validate a new supervised online testing methodology, remote guided testing (RGT). Methods A total of 85 healthy young adults were tested on 10 cognitive tasks assessing executive functioning (flexibility, memory, and inhibition) and learning. Tasks were administered either face-to-face in the laboratory (n=41) or online using remote guided testing (n=44) and delivered using identical web-based platforms (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, Inquisit, and i-ABC). Data quality was assessed using detailed trial-level measures (missed trials, outlying and excluded responses, and response times) and overall task performance measures. Results The results indicated that, across all data quality and performance measures, RGT data was statistically-equivalent to in-person data collected in the lab (P>.40 for all comparisons). Moreover, RGT participants out-performed the lab group on measured verbal intelligence (P<.001), which could reflect test environment differences, including possible effects of mask-wearing on communication. Conclusions These data suggest that the RGT methodology could help ameliorate concerns regarding online data quality—particularly for studies involving high-risk or rare cohorts—and offer an alternative for collecting high-quality human cognitive data without requiring in-person physical attendance.

Bilingualism’s role in Executive Function (EF) improvement has generated significant discussion but few conclusive results. Researchers have drawn an artificial dichotomy between monolinguals and bilinguals. Studies primarily include young adults with ceiling performances and use very few tasks, failing to capture EF complexity. To assess the effects of emerging bilingualism on cognitive control, we employed a longitudinal design, evaluating the influence of seven months of L2 learning in preschool children. We used multiple tasks for Inhibition, Working Memory (WM) and Cognitive Flexibility (CF). We tested 78 Greek-speaking children from Athens, with no prior L2 experience. Half (n = 40) received L2 training in school. Results showed that children learning an L2 improved significantly more than controls in areas of CF related to rule learning and adapting to change, and in spatial WM. Our longitudinal design and rich task battery allowed us to reliably detect language-related influences on EF.

Background. The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a fundamental reexamination of how human psychological research can be conducted both safely and robustly in a new era of digital working and physical distancing. Online web-based testing has risen to the fore as a promising solution for rapid mass collection of cognitive data without requiring human contact. However, a long-standing debate exists over the data quality and validity of web-based studies. Here, we examine the opportunities and challenges afforded by the societal shift toward web-based testing, highlight an urgent need to establish a standard data quality assurance framework for online studies, and develop and validate a new supervised online testing methodology, remote guided testing (RGT). Methods. A total of 85 healthy young adults were tested on 10 cognitive tasks assessing executive functioning (flexibility, memory and inhibition) and learning. Tasks were administered either face-to-face in the laboratory (N=41) or online using remote guided testing (N=44), delivered using identical web-based platforms (CANTAB, Inquisit and i-ABC). Data quality was assessed using detailed trial-level measures (missed trials, outlying and excluded responses, response times), as well as overall task performance measures. Results. The results indicated that, across all measures of data quality and performance, RGT data was statistically-equivalent to data collected in person in the lab. Moreover, RGT participants out-performed the lab group on measured verbal intelligence, which could reflect test environment differences, including possible effects of mask-wearing on communication. Conclusions. These data suggest that the RGT methodology could help to ameliorate concerns regarding online data quality and - particularly for studies involving high-risk or rare cohorts - offer an alternative for collecting high-quality human cognitive data without requiring in-person physical attendance.

Bilingualism’s role in Executive Function (EF) improvement has generated significant discussion but few conclusive results. Researchers have drawn an artificial dichotomy between monolinguals and bilinguals. Studies primarily include young adults with ceiling performances and use very few tasks, failing to capture EF complexity. To assess the effects of emerging bilingualism on cognitive control, we employed a longitudinal design, evaluating the influence of seven months of L2 learning in preschool children. We used multiple tasks for Inhibition, Working Memory (WM) and Cognitive Flexibility (CF). We tested 78 Greek-speaking children from Athens, with no prior L2 experience. Half (n = 40) received L2 training in school. Results showed that children learning an L2 improved significantly more than controls in areas of CF related to rule learning and adapting to change, and in spatial WM. Our longitudinal design and rich task battery allowed us to reliably detect language-related influences on EF.

Bilingualism’s role in Executive Function (EF) improvement has generated significant discussion but few conclusive results. Researchers have drawn an artificial dichotomy between monolinguals and bilinguals. Studies primarily include young adults with ceiling performances and use very few tasks, failing to capture EF complexity. To assess the effects of emerging bilingualism on cognitive control, we employed a longitudinal design, evaluating the influence of seven months of L2 learning in preschool children. We used multiple tasks for Inhibition, Working Memory (WM) and Cognitive Flexibility (CF). We tested 78 Greek-speaking children from Athens, with no prior L2 experience. Half (n = 40) received L2 training in school. Results showed that children learning an L2 improved significantly more than controls in areas of CF related to rule learning and adapting to change, and in spatial WM. Our longitudinal design and rich task battery allowed us to reliably detect language-related influences on EF.

BACKGROUND The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a fundamental reexamination of how human psychological research can be conducted both safely and robustly in a new era of digital working and physical distancing. Online web-based testing has risen to the fore as a promising solution for rapid mass collection of cognitive data without requiring human contact. However, a long-standing debate exists over the data quality and validity of web-based studies. OBJECTIVE Here, we examine the opportunities and challenges afforded by the societal shift toward web-based testing, highlight an urgent need to establish a standard data quality assurance framework for online studies, and develop and validate a new supervised online testing methodology, remote guided testing (RGT). METHODS A total of 85 healthy young adults were tested on 10 cognitive tasks assessing executive functioning (flexibility, memory and inhibition) and learning. Tasks were administered either face-to-face in the laboratory (N=41) or online using remote guided testing (N=44), delivered using identical web-based platforms (CANTAB, Inquisit and i-ABC). Data quality was assessed using detailed trial-level measures (missed trials, outlying and excluded responses, response times), as well as overall task performance measures. RESULTS The results indicated that, across all measures of data quality and performance, RGT data was statistically-equivalent to data collected in person in the lab. Moreover, RGT participants out-performed the lab group on measured verbal intelligence, which could reflect test environment differences, including possible effects of mask-wearing on communication. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that the RGT methodology could help to ameliorate concerns regarding online data quality and - particularly for studies involving high-risk or rare cohorts - offer an alternative for collecting high-quality human cognitive data without requiring in-person physical attendance. CLINICALTRIAL N.A.