Abstract
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.
