Brain Plasticity Underlying Acquisition of New Organizational Skills in Children

Inclusion Criteria:

- Age at entry: age ≥ 8.0 and ≤ 11.9 years corresponding to grades 3-5

- Written assent by child and consent by parent or legal guardian

- IQ: Estimated full scale IQ ≥ 85 and language comprehension scores ≥ 80 is required as
in past studies to assure that children are able to comply with specific skills
training and to minimize neurobiological heterogeneity

- Organizational skills deficits defined as elevated (≥ 1SD) pre-treatment COSS Parent
Total T-score and at least one COSS Parent Interference item rated as either a 3 or 4
(indicating an above-average level of impairment)

- Handedness: given the greater prevalence of non-right-handedness in neurodevelopmental
disorders, we will track handedness but not exclude left-handed individuals

- Medication: To minimize variability due to medication effects, we will preferentially
recruit currently unmedicated individuals (no psychoactive medications in the previous
3 months). For stimulants, we will require that dosage be stable for >1 month before
study entry and parents will be asked to consult their physician regarding
discontinuation for 48 hours before evaluation, mock scanning and scanning sessions.

- Must provide adequate MRI data at baseline

Exclusion Criteria:

- Enrolled in a self-contained special education classroom or served by a 1:1
paraprofessional in their classroom

- A learning disability on Individualized Education Plan

- Absence of signed consent by parent or legal guardian

- Children who dissent regardless of parental permission

- Full scale IQ < 85

- Participants for whom stimulant discontinuation for 48 hours prior to evaluation, mock
scan and scanning sessions is deemed medically impermissible

- Children with a recent (past 6 months) or current history of neuroleptic treatment or
current treatment with psychotropic medications other than stimulants

- Per history (and medical records if needed) medical illness requiring chronic current
treatment

- History of intrathecal chemotherapy or focal cranial irradiation

- Premature birth (< 32 weeks estimated gestational age or birth weight < 1500g)

- History of leukomalacia or static encephalopathy, intracerebral hemorrhage beyond
grade 2, other specific or focal neurological or metabolic disorder including epilepsy
(except for resolved febrile seizures)

- History of traumatic brain injury

- Contraindication for MRI scanning (metal implants, pacemakers, metal foreign bodies or
pregnancy)