Language Impairments in Children With ADHD and in Children With Reading Disorder

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate language impairments (LI) in a nonclinical sample of children with ADHD, reading disorder (RD), and ADHD + RD, and to explore whether these groups could be differentiated from each other and a control group regarding different aspects of language. Method: The groups were derived from a population-based sample of 5,672 children, 7 to 9 years. Language problems and the groups were defined from parent/teacher reports. Results: LI was identified in the majority within the ADHD + RD group and in >40% of the ADHD and RD group. More phonological and expressive language problems were seen in the RD than the ADHD group, while receptive language problems were more prominent in ADHD. More pragmatic problems were identified in the ADHD group. Conclusion: The present results support findings from clinical samples pointing to a considerable rate of LI both in children with ADHD and in children with RD.