Identifying demographic and language profiles of children with a primary diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

As the language presentation of children with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADHD) is highly complex, this study aims to delineate the profile of a cohort of 40 children with ADHD, aged between 9 and 12 years, attending a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). Speech and language therapists (SLTs) assessed the children on formal language tests (including tests of verbal comprehension/expression, vocabulary, reading and communication) over three one-hour sessions. Group demographics showed a predominance of males, with a greater number of children presenting with the combined subtype of ADHD over other subtypes (i.e. predominantly inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive type). The majority of the children also had a secondary psychiatric diagnosis. Test findings revealed some common trends in the overall group’s performance, but a general ADHD-specific language profile was not discernible. Almost three-quarters of the study cohort had previously undetected language difficulties, with...