Inhibitory control (IC) is a process in which we can regulate and prevent ourselves from performing unwanted behaviors. It develops in our first few years of life as the prefrontal cortex of the brain develops. Dr. Bell and collaborators’ longitudinal study in children from 10 months to 6 years old examined a relationship between IC, examined with the aid of electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, and early academic skills. IC is thought to be an important developmental process for young children adapting to new social settings, such as schools, as they must learn to control and repress undesired behaviors. Dr. Bell’s lab focused only on children exhibiting typical development patterns, excluding participants with low birthweights, premature births, and early indicators of neurodivergence. This was done as a method to control confounding variables to the experiment and to standardize participant conditions. Research examining neurotypical individuals does not serve to exclude neurodivergent individuals, but instead to understand typical neural processes or development, so that further research can understand differing or atypical mechanisms of the nervous system.
Dr. Bell’s research acknowledged that deficits in IC are characterized with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), as decreased EEG power values were observed compared to neurotypical children. Early characterizations of ADHD have considered a lack of inhibitory control to be a primary identifiable symptom, according to Senkowski, et al; Research conducted at Duquesne University led by Madison McKee also suggests that development of inhibition in the frontal cortex may be impaired in children with autism. Neurodivergence in children often results in a need for placement in special education programs to help make school systems more accessible. Further research on IC’s correlation to academic ability in both neurodivergent and neurotypical children could help demonstrate the degree in which traditional school systems are meeting children’s needs.
School distress is a phenomenon studied by Dr. Sinéad Mullaly outlined in the 2023 study “School distress and the school attendance crisis: a story dominated by neurodivergence and unmet need.” School distress refers to a feeling in children and young people of heightened emotional turmoil related to school, often resulting in a lack of attendance. In the study, the researchers found that 92.1% of children experiencing school distress were neurodivergent, with 83.4% being autistic. While all people experiencing school distress had higher levels of anxiety, resulting in behaviors of avoidance, mental health conditions were mostly observed in neurodivergent children, with only 6.17% of neurotypical children having reported any. This suggests that school systems likely present additional struggles for neurodivergent children, who are then forced to take on additional emotional and mental burdens.
Dr. Bell’s research found a positive relationship between IC and early academic performance, suggesting that traditional schooling may cater to neurotypical students who do not have impairments in IC seen in neurodivergent children. I believe that neurodivergent children who do not receive accessibility accommodations often have to take upon the added stress of conforming to school systems that are not created to benefit them and the way that they learn.
A June 2024 article in The Wall Street Journal entitled “A Record Number of Kids Are in Special Education—and It’s Getting Harder to Help Them All” outlines the United States’ public school systems’ struggle with accommodating students with accessibility needs in the classroom. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, classroom learning has changed and modernized. Along with this, decreased stigma around diagnoses of neurodivergence has led to an increase in students in special education. In 2023, up to 15.3% of US public school students were eligible for individualized educational plans due to disability. However, traditional classrooms unable to catch up to the rapid developments in education often lack the resources and knowledge necessary to serve all kinds of students with all kinds of learning styles. I believe that neuroscience research and the work of developmental neuroscience can help explore the best methods for children to learn and how to provide accessible means to academic success for students who are considered atypical or neurodivergent, as it is important that all people have access to education.
Resources:
Connolly SE, Constable HL and Mullally SL (2023) School distress and the school attendance crisis: a story dominated by neurodivergence and unmet need. Front. Psychiatry. 14:1237052. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1237052
McKee, M. (2023). Cognitive Neuropsychology of Autism, Attention- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders and the Role that Neurodivergence Plays on Social Skills, Cognition and Behavior.. D.U.Quark, 8 (1). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/duquark/vol8/iss1/5
Senkowski, D., Ziegler, T., Singh, M. et al. Assessing Inhibitory Control Deficits in Adult ADHD: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Stop-signal Task. Neuropsychol Rev 34, 548–567 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-023-09592-5
Whedon, Margaret, et al. “Relations between Frontal EEG Maturation and Inhibitory Controlin Preschool in the Prediction of Children’s Early Academic Skills.” Brain and Cognition, vol. 14. no. 105636, Dec. 2020, p. 105636, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105636.
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