Abstract
The present study had two main aims: (1) to determine whether deaf children show higher rates of key behaviors of ADHD (inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors) and of Conduct Disorder—CD—(disruptive, aggressive, or antisocial behaviors) than hearing children, also examining whether the frequency of these behaviors in deaf children varied based on cochlear implant (CI) use, type of school (regular vs. specific for deaf) and level of receptive vocabulary; and (2) to determine whether any behavioral differences between deaf and hearing children could be explained by deficits in inhibitory control. We measured behaviors associated with ADHD and CD in 34 deaf and hearing children aged 9–10 years old, using the revised Spanish version of the Conners scale. We then assessed inhibitory control ability using a computerized Stroop task and a short version of the Attention Network Test for children. To obtain a measure of the level of receptive vocabulary of the deaf children we used a Spanish version of the Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test for Deaf and hearing-impaired children. Deaf children showed significantly higher rates of behaviors associated with ADHD and CD, and over 85% of cases detected with high risk of ADHD-inattentive type in the entire present sample were deaf children. Further, in the group of deaf children a negative correlation was found between receptive vocabulary and frequency of disruptive, aggressive, or antisocial behaviors associated with CD. However, inhibitory control scores did not differ between deaf and hearing children. Our results suggested that the ADHD-related behaviors seen in deaf children were not associated with a deficit in inhibitory control, at least in the interference suppression subcomponent. An alternative explanation could be that these behaviors are reflecting an adaptive strategy that permits deaf children to access information from their environment which is not available to them via audition.
Highlights
Deaf and hard-of-hearing children growing up in hearing communities have been reported to have elevated rates of behavior problems when compared to typical hearing children of the same age (Barker et al, 2009; Stevenson et al, 2010)
The results in the present study suggest that the higher frequency of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-associated behaviors is not due to problems with inhibitory control, despite the fact that this component of executive functioning has been found to be altered in children diagnosed with ADHD
We suggest that future research in this area focus on examining how other central executive processes, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility, are related to the inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity behaviors that are associated with ADHD in deaf children
Summary
Deaf and hard-of-hearing children growing up in hearing communities (hereafter referred to as deaf1) have been reported to have elevated rates of behavior problems when compared to typical hearing children of the same age (Barker et al, 2009; Stevenson et al, 2010). The second group consists of behaviors that are often considered to have a more emotional origin, disruptive, aggressive or antisocial behaviors. This group of behaviors is frequently characterized as Conduct Disorder (CD), and often coexists with ADHD. Disruptive, aggressive, and antisocial behaviors in deaf children have been attributed to the emotional frustration of frequent problems with language and communication, due to having been deprived of full language input during the sensitive period in development—especially in deaf children who do not receive a cochlear implant until a relatively late age (Barker et al, 2009). With respect to inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity behaviors, which reflect cognitive executive functions, there is no clear argument
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