title: Early language mediates the relations between preschool inattention and school-age reading achievement.
abstract: Early inattention is associated with later reading problems in children, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. We investigated whether the negative relation between preschoolers' ADHD symptoms and 8-year-old reading achievement is directly related to the severity of inattention or is mediated by early language skills.
  
  
  
  Children (n = 150; 76% boys) were evaluated at 3 time points: preschool (T1), mean (SD) age = 4.24 (.49) years; 1 year later (T2), mean (SD) age = 5.28 (.50) years; and during school age (T3), mean (SD) age = 8.61 (.31) years. At T1, parents' Kiddie-SADS responses were dimensionalized to reflect ADHD severity. Children completed the Language domain of the NEPSY (i.e., A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) at T1 and again at T2. At T3, children completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Word Reading, Pseudoword Decoding, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtests, and their teachers completed ratings of Reading and Written Expression performance in school. The mediating effect of T2 Language on the relation between preschool Inattention and age 8 Reading was examined using the nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, while controlling for T1 Language.
  
  
  
  Language ability at T2 mediated the path from preschool inattention (but not hyperactivity/impulsivity) to 8-year-old reading achievement (both test scores and ratings) after controlling for preschoolers' language ability.
  
  
  
  Early attentional deficits may negatively impact school-age reading outcomes by compromising the development of language skills, which in turn imperils later reading achievement. Screening children with attentional problems for language impairment, as well as implementing early intervention for both attentional and language problems may be critical to promote reading achievement during school years. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The City College.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Counseling, Regent University.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.affiliation: Langone Medical Center, Child Study Center, New York University.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Ohio University.
authors.forename: Khushmand
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajendran
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Halperin
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D012720:Severity of Illness Index