The Effectiveness of Vocational Rehabilitation on Executive Functions and Career Meta-Capacities in Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation based on future time perspective on executive functions and career meta-capacities, including career adaptability and employability in college students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The present study was a single-subject research with an A-B-A design. The population includes students studying at Bojnourd University in the academic years 2019 to 2021 who suffer from ADHD. The sample consisted of four students with this disorder who were selected using purposive sampling. To collect research data, Barkely’s ADHD rating scale for adults, Barkely’s deficit in executive functions scale, diagnostic interview form for ADHD for adults named as ACE+, Savikas’ career adaptability, and Self-Perceived Employability/ ambition Scale were used. Interventions were performed based on the Future Vision-Based Occupational Rehabilitation Protocol, which was tailored for students with ADHD and had good content validity. Data analysis was performed using in situ and inter situ analyzes.

All four participants show that in all three variables of career adaptability, employability, and executive functions, the Mean Difference Indices from baseline phase to intervention and intervention phase to follow-up confirmed the effectiveness of interventions. Also, the PND index from the baseline phase to the intervention and from the intervention phase to the follow-up – except for the fourth participant in the intervention phase to follow the career adaptability variable - is calculated between 66.66 to 100%, which indicates the acceptable effectiveness of these interventions.

Vocational rehabilitation based on future time perspective can improve the executive functions and career meta-capacities of patients with ADHD by focusing on the future and helping them with ADHD to plan and orient towards the future.