Examination of language skills and working memory in children with and without attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder

The aim of this study is to examine the language, speech and communication skills of school-age children with attention deficit and hyperactive disorder. In this research, descriptive research design was used. The sample of the study consists of the combined type and attention-deficit-dominant type attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (n=47) participants, and the control group (n= 40) typically developing participants. Turkish School Age Language Development Test, Turkish Articulation and Phonology Test, Working Memory Scale and Predictive Cluttering Inventory were applied to all participants. SPSS program was used in the analysis of the data. Mann Whitney U and One Way ANOVA analyzes were performed to find the difference between the groups. As a result of the statistical analysis, a significant difference was found between the participants with typical development and those with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in terms of word count (p<.001). It was determined that participants with typical development outperformed participants with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in all tests. There was no difference in the two subtypes of the attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder group (p>.001). In the light of the findings, it has been concluded that language, speech and working memory skills of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder are lower than their peers with typical development and that supporting them in terms of language, speech and working memory will make positive contributions. Key Words: Attention deficit, Hyperactivity, Language, Speech, Working memory