Work

Performance Lapses in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Contribute to Poor Reading Fluency

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) demonstrate increased response variability compared with controls, which is thought to be associated with deficits in attention regulation and response control that subsequently affect performance of more cognitively demanding tasks, such as reading. The present study examined response variability during a computerized simple reaction time (RT) task in 67 children. Ex-Gaussian analyses separated the response time distribution into normal (mu and sigma) and exponential (tau) components; the association of each with reading fluency was examined. Children with ADHD had significantly slower, more variable, and more skewed RTs compared with controls. After controlling for ADHD symptom severity, tau (but not mu or mean RT) was significantly associated with reduced reading fluency, but not with single word reading accuracy. These data support the growing evidence that RT variability, but not simply slower mean response speed, is the characteristic of youth with ADHD and that longer response time latencies (tau) may be implicated in the poorer academic performance associated with ADHD.

Source: Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology

DOI: 10.1093/arclin/act048

Authors: L. A. Jacobson, M. Ryan, M. B. Denckla, S. H. Mostofsky, E. M. Mahone

Institutions: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Research Resources, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development