Children with comorbid speech sound disorder and specific language impairment are at increased risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2008 Feb;36(2):151-63. doi: 10.1007/s10802-007-9166-8. Epub 2007 Sep 20.

Abstract

This study focuses on the comorbidity between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and speech sound disorder (SSD). SSD is a developmental disorder characterized by speech production errors that impact intelligibility. Previous research addressing this comorbidity has typically used heterogeneous groups of speech-language disordered children. This study employed more precise speech-language diagnostic criteria and examined ADHD symptomatology in 108 SSD children between the ages of 4 and 7 years old with specific language impairment (SLI) (n = 23, 14 males, 9 females) and without SLI (n = 85, 49 males, 36 females). We also examined whether a subcategory of SSD, persistent (n = 39, 25 males, 14 females) versus normalized SSD (n = 67, 38 males, 29 females), was associated with ADHD and/or interacted with SLI to predict ADHD symptomatology. Results indicated that participants in the SSD + SLI group had higher rates of inattentive ADHD symptoms than those in the SSD-only and control groups. In addition, an unexpected interaction emerged such that children with SLI and normalized-SSD had significantly higher ADHD inattentive ratings than the other subgroups. A proposed explanation for this interaction is discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / epidemiology*
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Colorado / epidemiology
  • Comorbidity
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intelligence
  • Language Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Language Disorders / psychology
  • Male
  • Risk Factors
  • Semantics
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sex Distribution
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Speech Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Speech Disorders / psychology