title: [Attention and reading performance in children with ADHD, reading disorder and the combined condition].
abstract: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyslexia co-occur more often than expected by chance. Both disorders can have severe negative impact on children’s development. The aim of the present study was to compare attention and reading performance in children with ADHD, dyslexia and the comorbid condition. Ninety-nine German children in 3rd and 4th grade with ADHD (n = 26), dyslexia (n = 22) and the comorbid condition (n = 24) compared to a healthy control group (n = 27) were assessed with a model oriented assessment battery for reading and attention. Additionally, comorbid problems were examined. Children with ADHD were characterized by difficulties in decoding and reading comprehension, while children with dyslexia showed impairments in their attentional performance. Psychometric data revealed that children with dyslexia showed both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, while children with the comorbid condition scored the highest on all psychopathological dimensions. The results suggest, that reading problems in children with ADHD might be an epiphenomenon of the task used dependent on time constraints inherent to the task. Impairments of attentional functions in children with dyslexia emphasize the importance of a sufficient diagnostic procedure for subclinical ADHD symptoms as possible comorbid disorder. Future studies should focus the impact of early treatment of attentional deficits on reading acquisition.
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.|2 Faculty of Health, Zuyd University, Heerlen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Scharke
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Josefine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horbach
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kraatz
authors.affiliation: 3 Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herpertz-Dahlmann
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.affiliation: 1 Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für klinische Neuropsychologie des Kindes und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.|3 Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: Timo D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Vloet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); child; dyslexia; neuropsychology