A-165 Letter Versus Oject Naming: Exploring the Relationship Between Rapid Naming and Fluid Reasoning Ability

Abstract

Abstract Objective Fluid reasoning is associated with rapid naming (RN) ability in multiple studies (e.g., Mano et al., 2019), but less is known about which aspects of RN may be driving this relationship. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine which is better associated with fluid reasoning ability: letter or object naming. Method Participants comprised 226 children, ages 8–12 years (88.5% Caucasian, 53.1% Male), who completed a larger, NIH-funded study (R03HD048752, R15HD065627), representing a community sample. They encompassed children with ADHD, reading disability (RD), RD/ADHD and controls. Measures administered included the CTOPP Letter and Object Naming subtests and the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, Third Edition (TONI-3). Results Linear regression revealed RN predicted TONI-3 scores, F(2, 223) = 7.44, p = .001, but only object naming was significant (Beta = .26, p = .002). Separate regressions demonstrated that RN was not related to TONI-3 performance for controls (p = .12), nor for children with ADHD (p = .58). It displayed a trend for children with RD, F(2, 45) = 2.99, p = .06, with only object naming being significant (Beta = .44, p = .02). Conclusions Rapid object naming, but not rapid letter naming, is related to fluid reasoning ability in a mixed sample of children. Further analysis suggests that these findings were driven by children with RD. Future research should investigate whether the semantic or visual aspect of object naming, or both, is driving this relationship.