Children With ADHD Often Face Language Problems

Children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to experience linguistic issues and learning anxiety by the age of six, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the scientific journal Pediatrics, details how Australian researchers assessed the likelihood of developing a language-learning problem among young children who suffer from ADHD, compared to children who do not have the disorder. Language problems, they theorized, case a significant potion of children with ADHD social and academic difficulties along with a great deal of learning anxiety.

According to the study, researchers gathered 391 children between six and eight years old who had been permitted to participate in the study. The majority of these children were controls -- without having ADHD -- but 179 reported having been diagnosed with some level of the disorder.

The researchers then assessed oral language skills, academic aptitude, and social functioning through a series of tasks, interviews, and observation.

Following these assessments, the researchers determined that an estimated 40 percent of the children in the ADHD group had language problems, while only 17 percent of the children in the control group faced the same difficulty. It is important to note that the researcher determined that these rates remained the same among both boys and girls, as there is often a gender disparity discovered in cognitive assessment studies.

What's worse, even after adjusting for social demographic and other extraneous factors that might influence scoring, the children with language problems had worse math, academic competence and predictably, reading levels overall, compared even to the other 60 percent of the ADHD group.

But it isn't all bad news. While academia may be hurt, the researchers were surprised to determine that the ADHD children with language problems showed no signs of having it harder making friends or socially interacting. Only learning anxiety appeared to be a problem, showing that children with ADHD may need more attention and guidance in the classroom, especially when young.

The study was published in Pediatrics on April 21.