Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Women Living With a Partner Diagnosed With ADHD.

Objective: This study explores the depressive symptoms and quality of life (QoL) of women in relationships with partners diagnosed with ADHD, as well as the role of engagement in health-promoting activities (HPA) on these outcomes, spotlighting the often-neglected perspective of these women. Methods: Employing a cross-sectional approach, the study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to explore associations between partners' ADHD functional impairment, women's involvement in HPA, and their depressive symptoms and QoL. Results: Functional impairment in partners with ADHD was positively associated with women's depressive symptoms and negatively associated with their QoL, whereas women's engagement in HPA was positively associated with their QoL and negatively associated with their depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The findings suggest that women partnered with individuals diagnosed with ADHD may face an elevated risk of depressive symptoms and lowered QoL. The results highlight the potential need for a more comprehensive clinical approach to adult ADHD treatment that considers functional impairments and the experiences of partners. Incorporating HPA into therapeutic strategies appears beneficial. However, longitudinal research is needed to examine the direction of these associations and to develop potential interventions to support these women.

Development of a psychological health promotion intervention for ultra-orthodox Jewish mothers of children with ADHD using the intervention mapping protocol.

BACKGROUND: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neuro-developmental health condition in children and adolescents, in which its associated behavior manifestations are known to negatively affect members of the family unit, especially mothers. Ultra-orthodox Jewish (UOJ) community is growing globally and mothers of children with ADHD in this community are potentially at risk for negative health outcomes. As the UOJ community is culturally conservative, maintaining a distinct separation from outside influences, they often avoid utilizing public mental health services due to stigma and a lack of culturally sensitive treatments. Thus, this study aimed to develop a theory-driven and culturally appropriate psychological health promotion intervention for these mothers using the Intervention Mapping protocol. METHODS: A mixed-method design was used. Qualitative content analysis was performed on four focus groups (n=25). Additionally, descriptive statistics including the content validity index was used to measure feedback regarding the developed intervention protocol's relevance, effectiveness, and appropriateness Theoretical models for behavior change, including the Behavior Change Wheel's COM-B system and the Theoretical Domains Framework, and literature on ADHD in the general population and the ultra-orthodox community were integrated in the process. Intervention components were systematically derived from findings. RESULTS: Key determinants of health behavior change were identified, resulting in formulating intervention objectives addressing stigma reduction surrounding ADHD, increasing knowledge about the ADHD condition and treatment, awareness of the school systems' capabilities in meeting the ADHD child's needs, enhancing mothers' advocacy skills, and maternal self-care. Intervention? strategies included a group setting, providing information on health consequences, social support, re-attribution, active learning, goal setting, and promoting an identity associated with the desired behavior change. Mothers' quantitative feedback confirmed the overall relevance, effectiveness, and appropriateness of the interventions' content (CVIavg= .86, .85, .87). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention Mapping facilitated the development of a culturally sensitive psychological health promotion intervention for ultra-orthodox Jewish mothers of children with ADHD. Further research is warranted to assess intervention feasibility and effectiveness.

Coping with emotional dysregulation among young adults with ADHD: A mixed-method study of self-awareness and strategies in daily life.

BACKGROUND: Emotional dysregulation (ED) impacts functional outcomes among individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Self-awareness and strategies may enhance coping with ED yet are rarely studied in ADHD. OBJECTIVES: To explore ED-related self-awareness and strategies in daily life of adults with ADHD, and to examine the interrelations between them and their association with symptoms. METHODS: Sixty young adults with ADHD participated in a mixed-method study. At baseline, self-awareness and strategies were assessed using the Self-Regulation Skills Interview (SRSI); ADHD symptoms were self-rated using the ASRS symptom checklist. Then, symptoms were rated over 5-days using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). RESULTS: Significant challenges in self-awareness and strategies were demonstrated quantitatively and qualitatively. Awareness of ED was associated with variability of ADHD symptoms on EMA yet not with symptom severity. Qualitative content analysis revealed a range of self-awareness levels, which were related to noticing ED-related cues and understanding contextual factors predictive of ED. Self-awareness and strategies were significantly associated. Strategies varied regarding effort, individual preference and temporality. CONCLUSIONS: Variability of ADHD symptoms was negatively associated with self-awareness of ED. Strategy selection in daily-life among adults with ADHD may be affected by self-awareness and by a possible trade-off between short-term effort and long-term effectiveness.

"I wish it wasn't all on me": women's experiences living with a partner with ADHD.

PURPOSE: Grounded in the socio-ecological model of health, this study aims to understand the broader impact of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the family system. With a notable gap in knowledge concerning the impact of adult ADHD on spouses' well-being, this research explores the lived experiences of women in relationships with partners diagnosed with ADHD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using a descriptive qualitative phenomenological approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen women without ADHD, to gain insights into their experiences. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified- ADHD in Everyday Life, Burden Experience, and Women's Coping Strategies for managing ADHD within relationships. The findings suggest that partners' ADHD symptoms involve a burden on women. In response, women developed coping strategies such as learning about ADHD, setting limits, and cultivating partnership by creating bridges to compensate for ADHD-related barriers. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the substantial burden experienced by women in a relationship with partners diagnosed with ADHD, suggesting they should be recognized as caregivers and a potentially vulnerable group at risk. However, the homogeneous nature of our sample, focusing on white, heterosexual women, underlines the need for further research to better understand the impact of adult ADHD on diverse partners' functioning and health, as well as pathways to support them.

Women partners of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often fulfill a caregiving role that can create a substantial burden.Healthcare providers working with adults diagnosed with ADHD are encouraged to recognize the broader social context of their patients and validate the burden experienced by both partners living with the implications of this health condition.Healthcare providers can offer supportive measures for both partners, such as education and counseling to facilitate a deeper understanding of the unique challenges posed by ADHD, and to provide guidance on effective coping strategies.Interventions are needed to support women in relationships with adults with ADHD.Future interventions might include peer support groups, individual counseling, or couples therapy that specifically addresses the unique challenges of living with ADHD in a relationship.

A qualitative study on parents of autistic adolescents' experience of OT-ParentShip: A family-centred intervention.

BACKGROUND: OT-ParentShip intervention addresses the needs of autistic adolescents and the physical and emotional burden associated with parental caregiving. AIM: This article describes the qualitative findings of a mixed-method, single-group, pre-test-post-test pilot study to determine whether this intervention has adequate potential for further, large-scale testing. METHOD: The qualitative study sought to understand 14 parents' (N = 4 couples, N = 6 mothers) experiences in the intervention, examine their satisfaction, and receive their suggestions for improvement, using a grounded approach, with the aim of conceptualising a theoretical understanding of the data gathered. RESULTS: A total of five key themes and 14 sub-themes describe parents' experiences. The key themes that were identified were parent-therapist relationship, parent-adolescent relationship, reframing, benefit for family, and parental resilience. Emerging themes shed light on the therapeutic components and change mechanisms of the intervention. CONCLUSION: Self-determination theory was found to be an adequate theoretical framework to map these components and help in understanding their contribution to treatment outcomes. OT-Parentship directly enforces parents' basic psychological needs, who, in turn, support their adolescent child's need for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. An occupational therapy intervention that satisfies these basic needs has the potential to lead to therapeutic alliance and internalisation of goals, thus increasing therapy engagement and outcomes.

Psychological Health and Quality of Life among Ultra-orthodox Mothers of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Impact of Occupational Experiences.

BACKGROUND: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neuro-developmental health condition in children and adolescents. Parenting a child with ADHD can profoundly affect mothers' health. Research is limited regarding occupational experiences and their impact on health among mothers of children with ADHD (MoCwADHD). Ultra-orthodox MoCwADHD may have unique cultural circumstances that have not been studied. AIMS: To broaden understanding of parental stress, psychological health, and quality of life (QoL) of ultra-orthodox MoCwADHD and explore a possible role of occupational experiences on these outcomes. METHODS: Ultra-orthodox MoCwADHD (N = 114) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and measurements to assess child ADHD symptomatology, mother's ADHD, parental stress, psychological health, QoL, and occupational experiences. RESULTS: Participants displayed moderate parental stress, and 54.9 percent also showed psychological distress symptoms, similar to the literature on MoCwADHD in the general population. Frequency of engagement in health promoting occupations reflected patterns in line with cultural beliefs. Structure Equation Modeling showed that child ADHD negatively affected mothers' stress, psychological health and QoL. Importantly, occupational experiences directly and indirectly, via parental stress, impacted psychological health and QoL. CONCLUSIONS: MoCwADHD impacts maternal health in the ultra-orthodox population and occupational experiences may be a modifiable target for promoting their health.

Everyday Cognitive Control and Emotion Dysregulation in Young Adults With and Without ADHD: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the contribution of the temporal dynamics of two cognitive control mechanisms-inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM)-to emotion dysregulation (ED) in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in ecological settings. METHOD: One hundred twenty-two participants (age 18-33 years; 60 with ADHD) reported their ED at baseline, followed by a 5-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, with short behavioral IC and WM tasks performed five times/day. RESULTS: For IC, mean and lability of performance over EMA significantly accounted for differences in ED but not baseline performance. For WM, both baseline and mean of EMA, but not EMA lability, accounted for ED variance. ADHD status further contributed to the explained variance of ED. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the contribution of dynamic IC processes to ED in ADHD, in addition to WM performance level, and highlight the importance of dynamic and ecological investigation of different cognitive control components.

Mediated Online Awareness Among Adolescents With and Without ADHD: Using the Occupational Performance Experience Analysis (OPEA).

Online awareness is essential to learning from one's experiences, enabling adaptive self-management, often challenged among adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study used an online awareness tool, the Occupational Performance Experience Analysis (OPEA), to examine (a) the online awareness of occupational performance of adolescents with ADHD and controls and (b) the potential modifiability of online awareness after a brief mediation redirecting attention to task demands and contextual factors. Seventy adolescents with and without ADHD were administered the OPEA after completing cognitive assessments. The OPEA comprises a verbal description of experiences, scored for representation of main actions, temporal context, and coherence, completed again after mediation. Results point to significantly less coherent descriptions of occupational performance among adolescents with ADHD compared with adolescents without ADHD; modifiability was only examined in the ADHD group and demonstrated significantly more coherent descriptions after mediation. Findings may elucidate online awareness of occupational performance as an occupational therapy intervention target for adolescents with ADHD.

Effects of a powered mobility summer camp as perceived by school staff: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: Powered mobility has a positive effect on social skills, self-esteem and overall development of children with motor impairments, but almost all previous studies were conducted with pre-school children. The aim of this study was to explore change beyond mobility following a therapeutic powered mobility summer camp for school-aged children and adolescents with severe cerebral palsy, as perceived by school staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants in the therapeutic camp, which ran for 3 weeks, 5 days a week, three times over the summers 2018-2019, were children ages 7-19 (median age 11) with severe cerebral palsy who needed assistance in mobility and had limited hand function. Following the intervention, 19 semi-structured audio-recorded interviews were conducted with school staff, then transcribed and thematically analyzed using an inductive qualitative descriptive design with a phenomenological theoretical framework. RESULTS: Four overarching themes were identified: (1) "Every step you take: mastering new, sometimes unexpected, skills", (2) "Break on through to the other side: changes in behaviour", (3) "Make new friends (but keep the old): Boosting social behaviour" and (4) "I'm a believer: The journey through self-efficacy to empowerment". CONCLUSIONS: The interviews showed the immediate positive influence of powered mobility for children who previously did not have independent mobility, following an intensive intervention. Changes in initiative, empowerment, social relationships and behaviour highlight the importance of self-generated mobility, regardless of whether independence was achieved. School-aged children with severe cerebral palsy seem to benefit from an intensive powered mobility intervention in areas other than mobility skills themselves.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPowered mobility intervention seems to encourage activity and initiation among children and youth with severe CP.This research adds to the understanding of the effect powered mobility can have on social interaction and communication.Powered mobility might be a means to allow development, in addition to being an important end.

Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA): Validating a Measure of Functional Cognition for Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

IMPORTANCE: Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience difficulties with executive function and participation in life roles. Ecologically valid performance-based tests (PBTs) are needed to assess functional cognition in this population. OBJECTIVE: To examine the known-groups, concurrent, and ecological validity of a functional cognition PBT, the Hebrew version of the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA) Middle/High School Version, among adolescents with and without ADHD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional between-groups design. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred two adolescents (ages 12-18 yr), with (n = 52) and without (n = 50) ADHD. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The Hebrew version of the WCPA Middle/High School Version, MOXO™-Continuous Performance Test (MOXO-CPT), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) parent form, and Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP). RESULTS: The results showed significant between-groups differences with medium to large effect sizes for scores on most WCPA measures, with the ADHD group receiving significantly lower scores. Significant correlations in the expected direction were found between scores on the MOXO-CPT Attention and Hyperactivity indices and WCPA measures. Significant correlations were also found between most WCPA measures and the BRIEF Global Executive Composite (GEC) and the CASP. Multiple linear regression on the CASP indicated that the WCPA strategy score and the BRIEF GEC were significant predictors in the model. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results support the known-groups validity of the WCPA Middle/High School Version between adolescents with and without ADHD. Concurrent and ecological validity were supported by significant associations with measures of cognition and participation. What This Article Adds: These results reinforce the premise that the WCPA Middle/High School Version can be implemented as a valid measure of functional cognition among adolescents with ADHD.

Mothering a Child with ADHD in the Ultra-Orthodox Community.

Mothers of children with ADHD are at risk for negative health outcomes. The socio-cultural environment and everyday experiences in life roles may influence psychological health and quality of life. The ultra-orthodox Jewish (UOJ) community is an insular community who is underrepresented in the research, and as such there are no studies exploring the experience of mothering a child in this community. Thus, this study aims to explore the lived experience of mothering a child with ADHD in the UOJ community. The study used a descriptive qualitative phenomenological approach. Ten UOJ mothers of children with ADHD underwent semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore their lived experiences of mothering a child with ADHD. Thematic analysis was carried out on the transcripts. Four main themes, along with several subthemes, emerged from the qualitative analysis: child ADHD manifestations, maternal role, social factors, and self-care. Unique characteristics of the UOJ culture were apparent throughout the themes. UOJ children with ADHD display similar manifestations of symptoms in daily life to those in the general population and maternal burden is similarly present. However, unique perceptions of their maternal role, social factors, and legitimacy for self-care shed light into the impact of this culture on their lived experience. Findings may help promote culturally sensitive health care and interventions for this understudied population.

Psychological Factors Predicting Functional Ability and Participation After Hip Fracture.

IMPORTANCE: Positive psychological factors have been related to better outcomes among adults with various health conditions. OBJECTIVE: To predict functional ability and participation in older adults who had experienced a hip fracture on the basis of data at admission to acute (inpatient) rehabilitation. We measured physical factors, as well as positive and negative psychological factors, at three time points. DESIGN: Prospective and cross-sectional cohort study. Data collection occurred during admission, at discharge, and 6 mo after rehabilitation. SETTING: Inpatient geriatric rehabilitation center and follow-up at home. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-one older adults (M age = 78.58 yr, SD = 6.09) who had sustained a hip fracture because of a fall and who attended acute rehabilitation; 55 completed follow-up assessments 6 mo after discharge from rehabilitation. MEASURES: Participants completed the Adult Hope Scale, Life Orientation Test, Positive Affect Questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale (at admission only), hand-grip strength measures, Numeric Pain Rating Scale, and FIM® Motor domain (mFIM) before and after acute rehabilitation and after 6 mo. The Activity Card Sort (ACS) was administered only at follow-up. Outcome measures were the mFIM and ACS. RESULTS: At 6-mo follow-up, functional ability was correlated more with optimism than with age, gender, or hand-grip strength measured at admission. Participation was predicted by age, the hope-agency component, and pain in walking at admission; however, the hope-agency component was only marginally significant. At discharge, functional ability was strongly predicted by age, hand-grip strength, and mFIM scores at admission. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Optimism and hope played a role in explaining rehabilitation outcomes at 6-mo follow-up. Occupational therapy evaluation should address positive psychological factors, and intervention should aim to strengthen these factors as powerful aids in older adults' recovery from hip fractures. What This Article Adds: This study reflects the philosophy of occupational therapy, which places great emphasis on the connection between clients' mind-body-spirit and their participation in daily life occupations.

Food Perceptions in Adults with and without ADHD.

INTRODUCTION: Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have unhealthy eating habits, associated with overweight/obesity. We explored whether they present with different food-related benefit/risk perceptions, compared to those without ADHD. METHODS: One hundred five university students with (n = 36) and without (n = 69) ADHD, aged 22-30, participated in the study. They rated the level of frequency and likelihood of food consumption, as well as the perceived attractiveness, convenience, and risk of 32 healthy and unhealthy food items. RESULTS: The findings revealed significantly lower healthy/unhealthy food frequency consumption ratios for the ADHD group compared with the non-ADHD one but no differences in the ratios of estimated likelihood of food consumption and perceptions (attractiveness, convenience, and risk). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated a discrepancy between the eating behavior (more unhealthy eating patterns in adults with ADHD compared with controls) and their food-related perceptions (same perceptions regarding the benefit and risk of foods in both groups).

Pilot Study of the Cognitive-Functional Intervention for Adults (Cog-Fun A): A Metacognitive-Functional Tool for Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

IMPORTANCE: Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience chronic challenges in their life roles. There is a need for evidence-based occupational therapy interventions to help enhance their functioning. OBJECTIVE: To determine the preliminary effectiveness of the Cognitive-Functional Intervention for Adults (Cog-Fun A), a metacognitive-functional occupational therapy tool for the improvement of occupational performance (OP) and quality of life (QoL) in adults with ADHD. DESIGN: One-group pretest-posttest design with a 3-mo follow-up. SETTING: Community setting in Jerusalem, Israel. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen adults, ages 18-60 yr, with a valid diagnosis of ADHD and an indication of executive function (EF) impairment. INTERVENTION: Participants received 15 1-hr weekly sessions that addressed self-awareness of strengths and challenges through education and guided discovery as well as strategy acquisition and implementation within a context of occupational goal attainment. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version, an adult ADHD QoL measure, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, and the Self-Regulation Skills Interview were administered. RESULTS: Twelve participants completed the intervention. Posttreatment scores revealed statistically significant improvements in EF, awareness, OP, and QoL. Gains in QoL showed a modest reduction at the 3-mo follow-up. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The Cog-Fun A is a promising intervention for improving OP and QoL among adults with ADHD and should be investigated further. What This Article Adds: The Cog-Fun A offers an effective nonpharmacological, metacognitive-functional, occupation-centered treatment option for adults with ADHD.

Occupational experiences of college students with ADHD: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: College students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face difficulties with occupational performance in many functional domains. Despite the broad literature on academic and psychosocial functions, there is a gap in knowledge regarding how these students experience participation in their various daily functions. OBJECTIVE: Gaining a deeper understanding of the occupational experiences of college students with ADHD and exploring factors that facilitate or impede their occupational performance. METHOD: Twenty college students with ADHD were interviewed using the Occupational Performance History Interview (OPHI-II). Qualitative content analysis was employed. RESULTS: Six themes were found in relation to varied occupational domains: (1) Eating and meal preparation: Too little or too much; (2) Sleep: Not enough to 'recharge batteries'; (3) Medication management: Intense ambivalence; (4) Studying: Too hard, too effortful (5) Work: Need it and love it; and (6) Leisure: Desired yet absent. Each theme contained categories related to factors that influenced performance. Impeding factors included occupational demands, ADHD biological attributes, and personal beliefs. Facilitating factors included self-awareness, executive strategies, adaptive routines, and enabling social context. CONCLUSIONS: College students with ADHD experience profound difficulties in occupational performance, yet variation occurs across domains, attributable to occupational, biological, psychological, and social factors. Results can inform tailored interventions supporting occupational performance in this population.

Online and Intellectual Awareness of Executive Functioning in Daily Life among Adolescents with and without ADHD.

OBJECTIVE: Executive function deficits (EFD) are a central mechanism underlying negative outcomes in ADHD. This study examined awareness of EFD manifested in "real-time" task performance (Online Awareness) and in general self-knowledge of daily activities, outside the context of a specific task (Intellectual Awareness) among adolescents with and without ADHD. METHODS: 102 adolescents with (n = 52) and without (n = 50) ADHD were administered Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Parents completed the BRIEF parent version. Awareness was defined using the discrepancy paradigm: performance versus estimation on WCPA for online awareness; self versus parent report on the BRIEF for intellectual awareness. RESULTS: Adolescents with ADHD overestimated their performance on the WCPA and underestimated their EFD on the BRIEF compared to parent's ratings. The discrepancy scores in both types of awareness were significantly larger among ADHD than controls (p < .005). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with ADHD demonstrate significantly lower rates of online and intellectual awareness of EFD compared to controls.

Emotional dysregulation and health related quality of life in young adults with ADHD: a cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with emotional dysregulation (ED) and impaired health related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the role of ED in explaining the relationship between ADHD and HRQoL is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to do so in a sample of non-referred young adults with and without ADHD. METHOD: The study design was cross-sectional. A non-clinical sample of 63 young adults with ADHD (mean age = 24.86 years, SD = 3.25, 78% university students) and 69 gender-matched controls (mean age = 23.84 years, SD = 2.59, 89% university students) were recruited. The Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life scale was used to measure HRQoL; The Self-Report Wender-Reimherr Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Scale and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale were used to measure ED. Group differences on all measures were tested using univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance, while controlling for age. Finally, a moderation analysis was used in order to examine the impact of ED on HRQoL beyond that accounted for by ADHD symptoms. RESULTS: Both HRQoL and ED were significantly worse for the ADHD group compared to the control group. The medication status of the ADHD group participants had no significant effect on the level of ADHD symptoms, ED or HRQoL. ED moderated the effect of ADHD symptoms on HRQoL for the ADHD group. CONCLUSION: The findings support the centrality of ED in ADHD and its crucial influence on HRQoL. Young adults with ADHD and high levels of ED are at risk for aversive impact on their well-being regardless of their ADHD symptoms level.

Young adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) struggle with poor quality of life (QoL). Emotional regulation is one's ability to modify their emotional state to promote adaptive, goal-oriented behaviors. Emotional dysregulation is a common yet neglected feature of people with ADHD. Our results show that young adults with ADHD are twice more likely to suffer from emotional dysregulation then their peers. Moreover, higher levels of emotional dysregulation predicted lower levels of QoL. These findings support the centrality of ED in ADHD and their crucial influence on everyday QoL. These findings are important not only on the theoretical level, but may also contribute to the design of interventions that aim to promote quality of life.

Disability Orientation of Occupational Therapy Practitioners in Physical Rehabilitation Settings: Tension Between Medical and Social Models in Theory and Practice.

IMPORTANCE: To date, little is known about the extent to which occupational therapy practitioners have adopted the core insights of disability studies. OBJECTIVE: To examine the degree to which occupational therapy practitioners endorse the medical model of disability versus the social model of disability in theory and in practice. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Physical rehabilitation facilities, ranging from hospital to community settings. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred two Israeli occupational therapy practitioners. Outcomes and Measures: The Orientation toward Disability Scale, constructed for this study, has two dimensions that distinguish between the medical and social models of disability: locus of intervention (the person or environment) and client involvement (extent to which the practitioner fosters the client's autonomy in the rehabilitation process). Each dimension addresses both theoretical and practical endorsements. RESULTS: Greater support for the social model of disability was mostly evident in the client involvement dimension, whereas support for the medical model of disability was mostly evident in the locus of intervention dimension. Over both dimensions, the medical model of disability was significantly more endorsed in practice than in theory. Work setting and prior exposure to the social model of disability were found to affect practitioners' disability orientation. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Occupational therapy practitioners working in physical rehabilitation are still relatively far from fully adopting the critical insights of the social model of disability. This finding is especially relevant when their actual practice, rather than their theoretical views, is considered and when rehabilitation takes place in out-of-home settings. What This Article Adds: This study offers unique insight into the disability orientation of occupational therapy practitioners, showing a need for more training programs to expose students to the social model of disability. These programs should use critical discussions of the challenges that this model presents to the profession and barriers to implementing it in practice.

Evaluating a Therapeutic Powered Mobility Camp for Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy.

Background. Children and youth with severe cerebral palsy (CP) have limited independent mobility, which affects opportunities for overall development. Purpose. To examine the effectiveness of Power Fun, a therapeutic powered mobility summer camp. Methods. A quasi-experimental, repeated-measure design was used, with participants acting as their own control. Twenty-four participants with severe CP (aged 7-20 years) attended Power Fun for three weeks, five days/week. Assessments of powered mobility skills and functional mobility goals were conducted three weeks before the camp (T1), at baseline (T2), postintervention (T3), and at three-week follow-up (T4). Findings. An analysis of variance results indicated significant improvements in powered mobility skills (F(1,22) = 56.61, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.74) and functional mobility goals (F(1,58) = 80.17, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.74), with 70% of goals achieved postintervention. A descriptive analysis revealed three learning profiles. Implications. This study provides initial evidence supporting the effectiveness of Power Fun as an intervention promoting powered mobility for children with severe CP, across a range of abilities.

Advertising Influences Food Choices of University Students With ADHD.

Objective: Previous research in adults with ADHD showed high rates of obesity and unhealthy food choices. There is evidence that contextual cues, for example, advertisements, influence food choices. This study assessed the sensitivity of university students with ADHD to advertised food. Method: University students (N = 457) with and without ADHD participated in a cafeteria field experiment. Food choices were examined in periods of advertising either healthy or unhealthy sandwiches. Results: Students with ADHD (a) chose less healthy food items, (b) were more influenced by advertising, (c) showed the same overall healthy food choices as controls when exposed to healthy advertising. Conclusion: Students with ADHD chose unhealthier foods at the cafeteria but were also more influenced by advertising. Healthy food advertisements raised their healthy food choices. As this population has strong association with unhealthy dietary patterns, it is important to investigate the influence of food cues on their eating habits.