Linguistic alterations in children with and without ADHD by clinical subtype evaluated with the BLOC-S-R test

Abstract

Introduction: acquisition and development of language are complex processes that rely on the chronological development of the child, as well as environmental and social factors. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defines the term «language disorder» as the «impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbol systems, including morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics». Objective: to compare the speech alterations in children with ADHD by clinical subtype against healthy children with the BLOC-S-R test. Material and methods: the design was observational comparative cross-sectional study. A sample of 156 schoolchildren with ADHD and 111 schoolchildren without ADHD, aged between 7 and 12 years old, from seven public educational institutions, was studied. Prior authorization from the school administrators and signed informed consent from their parents were obtained. A screening test based on the DSM-V was applied to teachers and parents, and those children suspected of having ADHD were further confirmed through neuropsychology, child psychiatry, and psychology services. A group without ADHD was formed with the schoolchildren who were found to not have the condition and met the inclusion criteria. All participants underwent the BLOC-S-R test, and the results were analyzed using SPSS v. 19 software, applying descriptive statistics and χ2 for comparisons. Results: a total of 267 schoolchildren were studied, of whom 156 were identified as having ADHD and 111 without ADHD. The diagnosed subtypes were 73 (27%) with the combined subtype, 39 (15%) with the inattentive subtype, and 44 (17%) with the hyperactive-impulsive subtype. Out of these, 186 were male and 81 were female, with an average age of 8.2 ± 1.7.