Language and pragmatic profile in children with ADHD measured by Children's Communication Checklist 2nd edition

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to explore whether children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have language and/or pragmatic difficulties compared to typically developing children. Methods. Nineteen children with ADHD (age 5–12 years) and nineteen typically developing children (age 5–8 years) were evaluated using the Finnish version of Children's Communication Checklist 2nd edition (CCC-2). The CCC-2 questionnaire was filled in by their parents. Results. According to the CCC-2 questionnaire, differences between the groups were found in linguistic abilities, pragmatics skills, and social interaction. Conclusion. According to the CCC-2 profiles, many children with ADHD may have various kinds of communication difficulties, even if they do not have a diagnosed language disorder.

Key words::

• ADHD
• Children's Communication Checklist 2nd edition
• pragmatic language impairment

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all the parents who answered the questionnaire. We also thank warmly the personnel of the ADHD Association of Finland. In addition we thank Hanna Heikkinen, MSc, and Leena Joskitt, MSc, who helped us with statistical analysis and Leena Mäkinen, MA, for her help with collecting data on the control children. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Psykologien Kustannus Oy, and the late Pekka Heiskari for his valuable work concerning CCC-2.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.