Executive function impairments in high IQ adults with ADHD
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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Using Brain Activation (nir-HEG/Q-EEG) and Execution Measures (CPTs) in a ADHD Assessment Protocol
Published on: April 1, 2018
Thomas E Brown1, Philipp C Reichel, Donald M Quinlan
1Yale University School of Medicine, Yale Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders, New Haven, CT, USA.
Objectives:
To demonstrate that high IQ adults diagnosed with ADHD suffer from executive function (EF) impairments that: a) can be identified with a combination of standardized measures and self-report data; and b) occur more commonly in this group than in the general population.
Method:
157 ADHD adults with IQ >/= 120 were assessed with 8 normed measures of EF- 3 index scores from standardized tests of memory and cognitive abilities, and 5 subscales of a normed self-report measure of EF impairments in daily life.
Results:
73% of subjects were significantly impaired on >/= 5 of these 8 EF markers. On all 8 measures, incidence of these impairments was significantly greater than in the general population.
Conclusion:
High IQ adults with ADHD tend to suffer EF impairments that can be assessed with these measures; incidence of such impairments in this group is significantly higher than in the general population.
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