EPA-0660 – Pragmatic skills in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most frequent reported psychiatric disease for children with language disorder. ADHD can create problems in accessing language and using language appropriately, the difficulties in language are secondary to the attentional difficulties. Objective To study the pragmatic language deficit in ADHD children. Methods This study included 62 consecutive newly diagnosed ADHD children according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders IV-TR criteria, their age ranged from 6–8 year. Then they were referred to the Phoniatric unit, Kasr Al-Aini for pragmatic assessment. Forty four normal control children (age and sex matched), were included in the study. The included samples were subjected to the protocol of language and pragmatic assessment applied in Kasr Al-Aini. Twenty-four children with ADHD were excluded as they had history of delayed language development. Four control children were also excluded because of phonetic errors. The 38 ADHD children and 40 controls were subjected to the following psychiatric assessment: Semi-structured interview to confirm that the patients have ADHD, Wechsler Intelligence scale for children (WISC), and Conner's’ Parent Rating Scale-Revised: long version (CPRS-R: L). Results ADHD children got less significant scores in intention, narrative, conversation and total pragmatic scores than controls. There was significant negative correlation between inattention Conners’ subscale with intention and narrative pragmatic subscales. Also, significant negative correlation between social problems Conners’ subscale and intention and conversation. Conclusion ADHD children have pragmatic deficits than controls