A Psycholinguistic Perspective on the Impact of Attention Deficit

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent attention deficit impulsivity and hyperactivity which tends to affect academic performance and language development. This study investigates the impact of ADHD on the academic and communicative abilities of early primary school children. It also takes into consideration how teachers recognize and manage such problems in real classroom situations. The study uses a multi-method approach including unplanned observations of six children at the psychiatry structured classroom observations of 17 children semi-structured interviews with four speech therapists and 35 questionnaire responses from psychologists and psychiatrists. Additionally 196 primary school teachers completed a questionnaire. The study also includes a comparison of four handwriting samples of children with ADHD and their peers to look for possible psycholinguistic and motor differences. The results show that ADHD significantly affects attention working memory and expressive language which disrupts children's ability to follow instructions memorize and communicate efficiently.