Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the ro ....Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the role of time management and anxiety in the chaotic, impulsive, disorganised lives of young people with ADHD, this project offers significant benefits to the everyday functioning of children and adolescents in school and home, as well as substantial reductions in community expenditure on pharmacological interventions.Read moreRead less
Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional response ....Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional responses of this population in the classroom and during transitions. Through a series of studies the proposed research will identify events which are emotionally provoking for primary and secondary school-aged ADHD children, and then develop and evaluate emotion self-regulation programs (in combination with/without medication) which assist ADHD children to manage emotionally provoking events.Read moreRead less
Trajectories of Childhood Antisocial Behaviour: A New Model and Prevention Program for the Early Onset Life Course Persistent Offender. Criminal offences committed by children under 14 years in Western Australia and Queensland increased by almost 20% in 2003. Many individuals involved in these actions began their antisociality in primary school and continued through high school, despite intervention. Support for the developmental pathway to early onset persistent offending is found in the school ....Trajectories of Childhood Antisocial Behaviour: A New Model and Prevention Program for the Early Onset Life Course Persistent Offender. Criminal offences committed by children under 14 years in Western Australia and Queensland increased by almost 20% in 2003. Many individuals involved in these actions began their antisociality in primary school and continued through high school, despite intervention. Support for the developmental pathway to early onset persistent offending is found in the school suspension and exclusion data where in 2002, 3339 Western Australian primary school children were suspended. Trends are comparable in Queensland. Antisocial behaviour is a major costly education and public health problem. This research addresses the issue of preventative treatments and hence State and Federal government expenditure. Read moreRead less
Enhancing basic academic skills of low-achieving students: the role of automaticity in numeracy, reading and comprehension. The project is designed to improve the basic reading and numeracy skills of low-achieving school students. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of improved automaticity of basic skills on higher-order processes such as comprehension and problem solving. The underlying rationale for the program is that improving automaticity in component skills, such as dec ....Enhancing basic academic skills of low-achieving students: the role of automaticity in numeracy, reading and comprehension. The project is designed to improve the basic reading and numeracy skills of low-achieving school students. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of improved automaticity of basic skills on higher-order processes such as comprehension and problem solving. The underlying rationale for the program is that improving automaticity in component skills, such as decoding or calculating, frees up working memory resources. This freeing up of resources allows students to focus on inherently attention demanding higher-order cognitive activities, of the sort increasingly required of students in the middle school years.Read moreRead less
Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that c ....Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that can assist schools to implement programs that help Australian adolescent students with SLD to be empowered and successful in school and adult life. This will be of significant long-term national and community benefit. Read moreRead less
Positive Pathways to Reading for Disadvantaged Children: Identifying Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing Effective Intervention to Enhance Literacy, Self-concept, and Motivation. Early intervention to combat reading difficulties in primary schools is vital given the pervasive long-term academic and mental health consequences. Consistent with National Research Priorities (Promoting/maintaining good health/well-being),our research offers important educational/socio-economic benefits by: enri ....Positive Pathways to Reading for Disadvantaged Children: Identifying Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing Effective Intervention to Enhance Literacy, Self-concept, and Motivation. Early intervention to combat reading difficulties in primary schools is vital given the pervasive long-term academic and mental health consequences. Consistent with National Research Priorities (Promoting/maintaining good health/well-being),our research offers important educational/socio-economic benefits by: enriching disadvantaged children's reading achievement, promoting psychosocial adjustment and life potential, and elucidating multiplier effects of the intervention on volunteers administering the intervention, home life, and school engagement. Synergies between substantive research, methodological rigour, and practice will ensure real solutions and a research framework that will make a substantial contribution to Australia's future.Read moreRead less
Executive functioning, gender, age and medication as predictors of developmental well-being among students with ADHD. This study constructs social-cognitive phenotypes of ADHD, evaluates mental health and investigates ADHD student perceptions of classroom environment and achievement in science as functions of executive functioning, gender, age and medication. The effect of standard psychostimulant intervention and a novel nonpsychostimulant option on executive function, developmental and educati ....Executive functioning, gender, age and medication as predictors of developmental well-being among students with ADHD. This study constructs social-cognitive phenotypes of ADHD, evaluates mental health and investigates ADHD student perceptions of classroom environment and achievement in science as functions of executive functioning, gender, age and medication. The effect of standard psychostimulant intervention and a novel nonpsychostimulant option on executive function, developmental and educational outcomes will be investigated. The expected outcomes will inform more effective teacher professional development, and reduce school problems associated with psychostimulant medication and its illicit distribution by students. The linkage of health and education partners meets a nationally identified need for more effective collaboration to improve education outcomes for ADHD students.Read moreRead less
Self-regulation in very low birthweight/very preterm 2 and 4 year olds: A comparison study. Increasing numbers of extremely low birthweight children are surviving, and the majority go on to have learning problems. The difficulties these children experience and the resources that are devoted to the task of improving their academic skills have personal, social and economic costs. This project will assist in the identification of areas of difficulty that contribute to their problems in learning, es ....Self-regulation in very low birthweight/very preterm 2 and 4 year olds: A comparison study. Increasing numbers of extremely low birthweight children are surviving, and the majority go on to have learning problems. The difficulties these children experience and the resources that are devoted to the task of improving their academic skills have personal, social and economic costs. This project will assist in the identification of areas of difficulty that contribute to their problems in learning, essential for developing effective interventions. Success will bring substantial benefits at both the level of the individual and of society. The study will be undertaken by a PhD candidate as part of a multidisciplinary team, an experience that will provide an exceptional training in research with vulnerable children.Read moreRead less
Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are droppi ....Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are dropping behind in international competitiveness in reading and literacy achievement. The study concentrates on early reading development and to inform on teacher education and classroom teaching practices. Read moreRead less