Project Evaluation

To evaluate the effectiveness of the project, the research team collected data from a total of 898 participating students in 2021-2023, including parent- and teacher-administered questionnaires and data from cognitive assessments administered to students.

The research team collected data on the symptoms, executive functioning, training needs, and cognitive performance of students with ADHD before and after the training program to compare the pre-test and post-test performance as indicators of the effectiveness of the program. The overall results showed that the program was effective in improving the symptoms of students with ADHD, as well as their performance in executive functioning and cognitive functioning. Four key findings were found from the detailed analysis of the results.

Finding 1: Program Helps Improve Students' ADHD SymptomsThe researcher used parent questionnaires to measure the ADHD symptoms of the students (a decrease in the mean score of the scale indicates an improvement in symptoms). The results showed that after the program, the overall students showed significant improvement in both inattention and hyperactivity (Figure 1).

Finding 2: Program Helps Improving Students' Executive FunctioningIn terms of executive functioning, parent/teacher questionnaires were used to measure students' performance in the areas of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive regulation (lower mean scores on the scale indicated fewer problems). The parent-administered questionnaires showed that the overall students' performance in behavior regulation, emotion regulation, cognitive regulation, and global executive functioning had improved after the training (Figure 2). Teachers' questionnaires also showed significant improvements in students' cognitive regulation and global executive function performance (Figure 3).

Finding 3: Most Training Domains are Beneficial to the Overall StudentsIn order to better understand the training needs of students and to help coaches to develop appropriate training contents, the research team developed the "Training Needs Scale for Students with ADHD" (hereinafter referred to as the TNS) by making reference to relevant literature and assessment tools. The scale was designed to measure students' performance in different domains (the higher the score, the better the performance in that domain) in accordance with the twelve training topics designed by the project. The results showed that the overall students showed significant improvement in most of the domains after the training (Figure 4).

Finding 4: Overall improvement in the students' cognitive functioningIn addition to collecting data from parents and teachers through questionnaires, the research team also conducted individual assessments of students' performance in cognitive functioning (higher scores on Working Memory and Planning & Problem Solving represent better performance in those areas, while lower scores on Attention Shifting represent better performance in that area), using a variety of instruments. The results of the study showed that after the training, the overall students showed significant improvement in their Working Memory (Figure 5), Planning & Problem Solving (Figure 6), and Attention Shifting (Figure 7).