Metalinguistic Skills in Children with ADHD

Abstract

Purpose: Prior research has established positive relationships between language ability, executive function, and metalinguistic awareness in bilingual children. Little is known about how these skills relate in other populations. This study examined these relationships in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are known to have weaknesses in executive function. Method: Participants included 10 children with ADHD aged 6 to 7 years and 10 age-matched typically developing peers. Children completed a battery of cognitive, language, and metalinguistic awareness assessments. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire and several surveys regarding their child’s development, including executive function abilities. Results: There were no significant differences in between groups based on performance on any of the metalinguistic awareness assessments. Conclusions: These results suggest a dissociation between executive function and metalinguistic skills in young children with ADHD. Future research examining a larger sample with a larger array of assessments is warranted.