Executive performance and reading achievement in students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience executive function alterations, resulting in difficulties with attentional control and cognitive flexibility. Considering the complexity of the processes involved in reading comprehension and the fundamental role that the executive function plays in these processes, it is expected that children with ADHD display differences in performance compared to their peers without ADHD. This correlational predictive study aims to determine whether such reading comprehension differences really exist and if it is possible to predict them on the basis of the executive function. To this purpose, 71 third and fourth grade primary school students (32 with ADHD and 39 without ADHD) were selected, and their skills in reading comprehension, word recognition, verbal working memory, attentional control and processing speed were evaluated. In addition, a binary logistic regression analysis was applied to determine which variables predicted the reading comprehension level of the students. The results indicate that ADHD significantly influences reading comprehension skills in schoolchildren and that variables linked to the executive function, especially verbal working memory, are good predictors of reading comprehension performance.