Question
I have a 4th grade boy with a diagnosis of ADHD. He is a bright boy with an awesome vocabulary. His classroom teacher reports that his writing is impacted by his inability to initiate ideas without constant cueing, as well as an inability to express and s
Answer
A youngster with AD/HD can have a typical Executive Function Disorder and a language disorder. Typically one's expressive skills will lack organization and be "long winded," with difficulty getting to the point. It sounds like this youngster has a myriad of issues, one of which is an expressive language disorder - not uncommon in this population. Children in this group typically have word finding difficulties, which may not always be manifested by "searching" behavior. They have problems getting to the point. It sounds like this youngster has a language disorder in addition to his AD/HD.
We find a high co-morbidity of receptive and expressive language disorders in a population of AD/HD. We are about to publish our findings. It was presented at ASHA Nov. 07. By the way, the literature reports that children with AD/HD typically have poor written language skills. We find that they have poor receptive and expressive skills as well, which is co-morbid to their AD/HD and Executive Function Disorder. There is a body of literature that supports this finding. We found that children with AD/HD have typical problems getting to the point in conversation, searching for the word or retrieving it and having problems with short term memory. I think this youngster has all issues- EFD and a receptive and expressive language disorder in addition to the AD/HD. It should be investigated further. Hint - check out his metalinguistic skills.
Donna Geffner, Ph.D., CCC-Sp/A is the author of AD/HD: What professionals need to Know- published by Thinking Publications' Super Duper. She is a Professor and Program Director of St. John's Unversity Graduate Program in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Director of the Speech and Hearing Center, which she initiated and developed. She maintains a private practice devoted to children and adults with CAPD and ADHD. She has authored two texts, A Listening Inventory, Deafness Monograph, and over 200 publications and presentations given nationally and internationally. She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Providence College.
Donna Geffner ., Ph.D,CCC
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