Comparison of the pragmatic language skills of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and their typically developing peers

Pragmatic language refers to an individual's use of language in a social context. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a term used to describe a range of symptoms including poor listening skills, excessive talking, difficulty taking turns, and impulsivity, which vary in form and severity. It is known that children with ADHD are at risk for language disorders, including pragmatic language disorders, and that these children frequently exhibit language impairments. This study aims to evaluate and compare the pragmatic language skills of children diagnosed with ADHD and their typically developing peers. The study includes a total of 56 children, with 28 (21 boys, 7 girls) newly diagnosed with ADHD aged between 6 years and 8 years 11 months, referred from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Hacettepe University, and 28 age- and gender-matched typically developing children. For language assessments, the "Turkish School-Age Language Development Test(TODİL)" was used; for the assessment of pragmatic language skills, the "Pragmatic Language Test-2-Turkish Version (PDT-2)" and the "Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory-Turkish Version (PDBE-TR)" were used. The results of the study showed that children diagnosed with ADHD demonstrated statistically significantly weaker skills in language abilities (p<0.001) and in the evaluation tools used to assess pragmatic language skills, PDT-2 (p<0.001) and PDBE-TR (p<0.001), compared to their typically developing peers. The study concludes that children diagnosed with ADHD exhibit significantly weaker language and pragmatic language skills compared to their typically developing peers.