Computerised attention training for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a randomised controlled trial Hannah E. Kirk, 1 Kylie M. Gray, 2 Kirsten Ellis, 3 John Taffe, 2 and Kim M. Cornish 1 1 Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic.; 2 Department of Psychiatry, Centre for Developmental Psychology & Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic.; 3 Department of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia Background: Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience heightened attention difficulties which have been linked to poorer cognitive, academic and social outcomes. Although, increasing research has focused on the potential of computerised cognitive training in reducing attention problems, limited studies have assessed whether this intervention could be utilised for those with IDD. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a computerised attention training programme in children with IDD. Methods: In a double-blind randomised controlled trial, children (n = 76; IQ < 75) aged 4–11 years were assigned to an adaptive attention training condition or a nonadaptive control condition. Both conditions were completed at home over a 5-week period and consisted of 25 sessions, each of 20-min duration. Outcome measures (baseline, posttraining and 3-month follow-up) assessed core attention skills (selective attention, sustained attention and attentional control) and inattentive/hyperactive behaviour. Results: Children in the attention training condition showed greater improvement in selective attention performance compared to children in the control condition (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI 0.02, 0.45). These improvements were maintained 3 months after training had ceased (SMD = 0.26, 95% CI 0.04, 0.48). The attention training programme was not effective in promoting improvements in sustained attention, attentional control or inattentive/ hyperactive behaviours. Conclusions: The findings suggest that attention training may enhance some aspects of attention (selective attention) in children with IDD, but the small to medium effect sizes indicate that further refinement of the training programme is needed to promote larger, more global improvements. Keywords: Attention; cognitive training; developmental disability; intellectual disability. Introduction Impairments in attention are among the most com- mon concerns for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; Emerson, 2003). The prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in this population substantially exceeds the rate of ADHD in typically developing (TD) individuals (Neece, Baker, Blacher, & Crnic, 2011). These deficits are concerning given the critical role of attention in predicting later academic skills (McClelland, Acock, Piccinin, Rhea, & Stallings, 2013); facilitating social inclusion (Gomes & Livesey, 2008); and developing higher order cognitive skills (Diamond, 2013). Thus, the elevated attention difficulties observed in children with IDD leave these individuals at heightened vul- nerability to academic and social impairments (Cor- nish, Steele, Monteiro, Karmiloff-Smith, & Scerif, 2012). Considering the evidence that attention is an essential building block that shapes the broader cognitive landscape, there has been a significant research push to investigate how early attention deficits can be improved. A growing body of research suggests that cognitive functions, such as attention can be positively influenced via targeted training (Kray, Karbach, Haenig, & Freitag, 2012; Tamm, Epstein, Peugh, Nakonezny, & Hughes, 2013). In recent years, cognitive training interventions aimed at improving attention in both TD children and children within clinical populations (e.g. ADHD) have garnered substantial clinical and research interest. Fundamental to the concept of cognitive training is that repeated practice within a given domain will result in improvements in efficiency within that domain, and can additionally transfer to improve- ments in untrained domains. In the context of atten- tion, training studies in TD children have revealed improvements in behavioural attention difficulties such as inattention (Rabiner, Murray, Skinner, & Malone, 2010; Steiner, Sheldrick, Gotthelf, & Perrin, 2011), as well as core cognitive attentional processes such as selective attention, sustained attention and attentional control (Tamm et al., 2013). Despite sug- gestions that similar training interventions may be viable for the significant attention difficulties observed in children with IDD (Kirk, Gray, Riby, & Cornish, 2015), current training studies have pre- dominately focused on TD populations and clinical groups without cognitive impairments. Conflict of interest statement: The research for this paper was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Since completion of the project Hannah E. Kirk and Kim M. Cornish have been listed as inventors on an international patent application for the TALI training programme. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry **:* (2016), pp **–** doi:10.1111/jcpp.12615