Noonan Syndrome Spectrum Disorders (NSSD) are a group of related genetic disorders, associated with cognitive and psychological vulnerabilities. Especially problems in executive functioning (EF) and social cognition (SC) are frequent. Training of EF and SC is effective in patients with other neurodevelopmental disorders. This pilot study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of two eHealth interventions: 1) the computerised EF training Braingame Brian (BGB) for children with NSSD and 2) the online Social-Emotional training for adults with NSSD (eSENS).

In the BGB study, nine children with NS (age 7-17 years) were randomly allocated to the treatment group (n= 5) or the control group (n= 4). In the eSENS study, 12 adults were included (age 20-41 years). Neuropsychological tests (BGB) and questionnaires (BGB and eSENS) regarding EF and SC were administered pre and post treatment. Adults also completed a weekly questionnaire regarding emotion regulation. Data were analysed using non-parametric tests.

In the BGB study, a significant improvement was found in cognitive flexibility (Z= -2.45, p = .016, r = -0.82). No other significant results were found, although the effect size for parent-rated EF was promising (r = -0.5). In the eSENS study, significant improvements were found on self-report questionnaires of alexithymia (Z= -2.75, p= .01), emotion regulation (reappraisal Z= -2.56, p= .01; suppression Z= -2.54, p= .01), anxiety (Z= -2.71, p= .01), and social-emotional self-efficacy (Z= -2.22, p= .03). A weekly assessment of emotion regulation showed an increase in reappraisal (c²= 28.45, p= .03) and a decline in suppression (c²= 54.89, p< .001) during the training. Training partners also reported less problems in alexithymia (Z= -2.51, p= .01), emotion regulation (Z= -2.53, p=.01) and self-evaluation (Z= -2.47, p=.01) in the patients.

BGB and eSENS are feasible eHealth interventions for children and adults with NSSD. Although the effectiveness of these interventions have yet to be evaluated in larger and controlled samples, they show encouraging results. The introduction of eHealth interventions of EF and SC seem promising and could greatly improve psychological wellbeing in patients with NSSD.