Mind, brain and education: neuropsychological contributions to executive function training in the classroom with students with ADHD

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the neurodevelopmental disorders with the highest incidence in children and adolescents. With multifactorial characteristics, ADHD leads to impairments in executive functioning, for example, in skills related to Executive Functions (EFs) such as behavior control, sustaining attention and mastering activity levels or impulses, usually leading to impairments in learning. The aim of this article was to carry out a literature review as a contribution of neuropsychology to training EFs in the classroom with students with ADHD.  An exploratory study was carried out, followed by descriptive or experimental research. Searches were carried out in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde-Psicologia Brasil (BVSPSI), Periódicos Eletrônicos de Psicologia (PEPSIC) databases, in the journals available in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), in PUBMED and in textbooks. Covering publications from 2017 to 2023, 8 articles were selected for analysis. The bibliographic survey showed the importance of studies on ADHD related to EFs, and it is important for teachers to stimulate these functions, as studies have shown that they have minimized the impact on learning deficits in students with ADHD, and that they can consequently bring about better emotional regulation. This review provided evidence showing that EF training improves executive functioning, reducing ADHD symptoms and leading to improvements in academic functioning. It is suggested that further empirical research into EF intervention by educators for students with ADHD with greater breadth and sampling needs to be carried out.