Individual differences in text processing and recall in children with and without ADHD

Abstract

The current study examined whether children with and without ADHD differed in text processing when contradictory information was present. Forty‐seven children between 10 and 14 years old performed a self‐paced reading task. Half the passages contained contradictory information. Additionally, language and cognitive skills were assessed to examine the relationships between text processing and individual differences in these abilities (working memory, oral sentence recognition, verbal and non‐verbal intelligence, word reading fluency and decoding ability). Results indicate that the non‐ADHD group modulated their reading behaviour based on the presence of inconsistent information, whereas the ADHD group did so in response to the consistent information. However, this task effect in the ADHD group was primarily observed with children who scored low on background measures (e.g., verbal intelligence, working memory). Additionally, the children with ADHD recalled fewer units of information than their non‐ADHD peers. Correlations demonstrated that the pattern of relationships between the text comprehension measures (i.e., true‐false test and text recall) and the background measures differed between the two groups, such that measures were more closely associated with each other in the ADHD group. Results are discussed in terms of educational implications to support children with ADHD who experience reading comprehension difficulties.