Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The incidence and increasing awareness of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in our educational systems and the expectation that speech-language pathologists have a role in its intervention ensure that clinicians will encounter many children with ADHD. Children identified initially as having specific language impairments frequently are later identified as also having ADHD. Many children with ADHD exhibit delays in language development and later communication difficulties that affect their social and academic performance. Understanding the inter-relationships of language and ADHD requires an understanding of the nature of both ADHD and types of language impairments. Neither ADHD nor language impairments are single constructs. Different types of language impairments are associated with different types of ADHD. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV-TR) ( American Psychiatric Association, 2000) lists nine characteristics of inattention and nine characteristics of hyperactivity/impulsivity (see Table 23.1 ). Diagnosis of ADHD requires that children exhibit at least six of these 18 behaviors in either the inattention category or the hyperactivity/impulsivity category. The symptoms must have been present for at least 6 months, occur to a degree that is developmentally deviant, and must have developed before the age of 7 years. The type of ADHD that is diagnosed depends ... log in or subscribe to read full text