Examining Distinctive Working Memory Profiles in Chinese Children With Predominantly Inattentive Subtype of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Reading Difficulties

Kean Poon,Li-Chih Wang,Mimi S H Ho

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718112

Kean Poon, Li-Chih Wang + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718112

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Abstract

Although evidence has shown that both RD and ADHD-I children suffer from working memory problems, inconsistencies in impaired modalities have been reported. This study aimed to (1) compare the three WM domains (i.e., verbal WM, visual-spatial WM, and behavioral WM) among pure ADHD-I, pure RD, comorbid ADHD-I+RD, and typical control groups and (2) examine the impact of comorbidity on the three WM domains. A Chinese sample of participants from Hong Kong included 29 children in the ADHD-I group, 78 children in the RD group, 31 children in the comorbid group (ADHD-I+RD), and 64 children in the TD control group. All participants completed the assessments individually. The findings showed that the children with ADHD-I and/or RD exhibited diverse cognitive profiles. In particular, RD was associated with verbal and visual-spatial working memory deficits, while ADHD-I was associated with behavioral working memory deficits. Interestingly, the comorbid condition demonstrated additive deficits of the two disorders but with greater deficits in behavioral working memory. These findings support the cognitive subtype hypothesis and provide a clearer picture of the distinctive working memory profiles of different groups, allowing for the development of intervention programs in the future.

Highlights

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Reading DifficultiesAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children worldwide, with 8.4% of school-aged children having ADHD [American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2021]
The results revealed that the performance of the three disorder groups (ADHD-I: p < 0.001; reading difficulties (RD): p < 0.05; comorbid: p < 0.001) was significantly worse than that of the TD group in behavioral working memory (WM)
Given the emergence of a wider range of validated measures for each of the main components of WM, there is a need to provide a better understanding of the WM profiles associated with RD and ADHD-I and their comorbidity

Summary

Introduction

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Reading DifficultiesAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children worldwide, with 8.4% of school-aged children having ADHD [American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2021]. Children who exhibit purely inattentive behavior are likely to underachieve in reading (Warner-Rogers et al, 2000; Willcutt and Pennington, 2000) and have a significantly higher rate of comorbid reading difficulties (RD) than in any other developmental disorder (Turker et al, 2019; Karr et al, 2021). These RD occur despite normal intelligence and a lack of sensory impairment, brain damage, or environmental deprivation (McBride-Chang, 1995; Catts and Kamhi, 2005) and have a global prevalence rate of 7% in children (Dyslexia International, 2021). Given the high prevalence rate and developmental challenges this group faces (Bloom et al, 2005), the current study aimed to explore the core neurological deficits of ADHD-I and RD and understand the impact of comorbidity on these shared deficits

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