Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T22:35:42.813Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Written composition performance of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2011

ANA MIRANDA CASAS ,
MANUEL SORIANO FERRER  and
INMACULADA BAIXAULI FORTEA
ANA MIRANDA CASAS*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia
MANUEL SORIANO FERRER
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia
INMACULADA BAIXAULI FORTEA
Affiliation:
Universidad Católica San Vicente Mártir
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Ana Miranda Casas, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibañez, 21, Valencia 46010, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently associated with learning disabilities. The present study examined the written composition of children with ADHD, which depends to a large degree on continuous self-regulation and attentional control skills for organizing information and maintaining the level of effort. Fifty children with ADHD and 50 normally developing children, matched on age and IQ, were assessed using a composition writing task. The results contribute to prior research findings by showing that the children with ADHD performed significantly worse than the comparison groups on the majority of the planning, translation, and revision process measures usually employed to assess the quality of written compositions. Deficiencies in executive functioning or poor linguistic and metalinguistic competence could account for the results found. More research is needed to clarify the underlying causes of the written composition performance profile of children with ADHD.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , May 2013 , pp. 443 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adi-Japha, E., Landau, Y., Frenkel, L., Teicher, M., Gross-Tzur, V., & Shalev, R. S. (2007). ADHD and dysgraphia: Underlying mechanisms. Cortex, 43, 700–709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aguado, G. (1995). El desarrollo del lenguaje de 0 a 3 años. Bases para un diseño curricular en la Educación Infantil. Madrid: Cepe.Google Scholar
Alamargot, D., & Chanquoy, L. (2001). Through the models of writing. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altemeier, L., Jones, J., Abbott, R. D., & Berninger, V. (2006). Executive functions in becoming writing readers and reading writers: Note taking and report writing in third and fifth graders. Developmental Psychology, 29, 161–173.Google ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barkley, R. A. (1997). ADHD and the nature of self-control. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Barkley, R. A. (2005). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bernfort, L., Nordfeldt, S., & Persson, J. (2008). ADHD from a socioeconomic perspective. Acta Paediatrica, 97, 239–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berninger, V. (2006). A developmental approach to learning disabilities. In Siegel, L. & Renninger, A. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Child psychology and practice. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Berninger, V., Cartwright, A., Yates, C., Swanson, H. L., & Abbott, R. (1994). Developmental skills related to writing and reading acquisition in the intermediate grades: Shared and unique variance. Reading and Writing, 6, 161–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, D. V. M. (2004). Expression, reception and recall of narrative instrument (ERRNI). London: Pearson Assessment.Google Scholar
Briz, A. (2001). El español coloquial en la conversación. Barcelona: Ariel.Google Scholar
Brossard, R. M., Majnemer, A., Shevell, M., & Snider, L. (2008). Handwriting performance in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Journal of Child Neurology, 23, 399–406.Google Scholar
Brook, U., & Boaz, M. (2005). Attention deficit and learning disabilities (ADHD/LD) among high pupils in Holon (Israel). Patient Education and Counseling, 58, 164–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruning, R., & Horn, C. (2000). Developing motivation to write. Educational Psychologist, 35, 25–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chanquoy, L. (2001). How to make it easier for children to revise their writing: A study of text revision from 3rd to 5th grades. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 15–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemente, R. A. (1989). Medida del desarrollo morfosintáctico. Los problemas de la medición y utilización de la LME. Anuario de Psicología, 42, 103–115.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (rev. ed.). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Conners, C. K. (1997). Conners Parent Rating Scale—Revised manual: Long version (CPRS-R: L). North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
De la Paz, S. (2001). Teaching writing to students with attention deficit disorders and specific language impairment. Journal of Educational Research, 95, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faraone, S. V., Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M. C., Doyle, A. E., & Seidman, L. J. (2001). A psychometric measure of learning disability predicts educational failure four years later in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders, 4, 220–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, M., & Aguado, G. (2007). Medidas del desarrollo típico de la morfosintaxis para la evaluación del lenguaje espontáneo de niños hispanohablantes. Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología, 27, 140–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fillmore, M. T., Milich, R., & Lorch, E. (2009). Inhibitory deficits in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Intentional versus automatic mechanisms of attention. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 539–554.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fletcher, J. M., Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, B. A. (1999). Comorbidity of learning and attention disorders: Separate but equal. Pediatrics Clinics of North America, 46, 885–897.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, S., Fine, J., & Tannock, R. (2001). Methylphenidate selectively improves story retelling in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 11, 217–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
García, J. N., Rodríguez, C., Caso, A., Fidalgo, R., Arias, O., González, L., et al. (2007). El trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH), diferencias entre los diferentes subtipos en la composición escrita. Análisis y Modificación de conducta, 33, 149, 369–384.Google Scholar
Gillam, R., & Pearson, N. (2004). The test of narrative language. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Gómez Torrego, L. (1997). Gramática didáctica del español. Madrid: SM.Google Scholar
Gregg, N., Coleman, C., Stennett, R. B., & Davis, M. (2002). Discourse complexity of college writers with and without disabilities: A multidimensional analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 23–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hacker, D. J. (1994). Comprehension monitoring as a writing process. Advances in Cognition and Educational Practice, 6, 143–172.Google Scholar
Harris, K., & Graham, S. (1996). Making the writing process work: Strategies for composition and self-regulation. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.Google Scholar
Hayes, J. R. (1996). A new framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing. In Lewy, C. M. & Ransdell, S. (Eds.), The science of writing: Theories, methods, individual differences and applications (pp. 1–27). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hayes, J. R., & Flower, L. (1980). Identifying the organization of writing processes. In Gregg, L. W. & Steinberg, E. R. (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp. 3–30). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hayes, J. R., & Flower, L. (1987). On the structure of the writing process. Topics in Language Disorders, 7, 19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooper, S. R., Costa, L. J., McBee, M., Anderson, K. L., Yerby, D. C., Knuth, S. B., et al. (2011). Concurrent and longitudinal neuropsychological contributors to written language expression in first and second grade students. Reading and Writing, 24, 221–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooper, S. R., Swartz, C. W., Wakely, M. B., de Kruif, R. E. L., & Montgomery, J. W. (2002). Executive functions in elementary school children with and without problems in written expression. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 57–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudson, R., Lane, H., & Mercer, C. (2005). Writing prompts: The role of various priming conditions of the compositional fluency of developing writers. Reading and Writing, 18, 473–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, D., McGillivray, L., & Schmidek, M. (1997). Guide to narrative language. Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications.Google Scholar
Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1983). Language development as a problem-solving process. Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, 22, 1–23.Google Scholar
Kellogg, R. T. (1987). Effects of topic knowledge on the allocation of processing time and cognitive efforts to writing processes. Memory and Cognition, 15, 256–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kellogg, R. T. (1996). A model of working memory in writing. In Levy, C. M. & Ransdell, S. E. (Eds.), The science of writing (pp. 57–71). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Kellogg, R. (1999). Components of working memory in text production. In Torrance, M., & Jeffrey, G. C. (Eds.), The cognitive demands of writing: Processing capacity and working memory in text production. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar
Le Bigot, N., Passerault, J.-M., & Olive, T. (2009). Memory for words location in writing. Psychological Research, 73, 89–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lienemann, T., & Reid, R. (2008). Using self-regulated strategy development to improve expository writing with students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Exceptional Children, 74, 471–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liles, B. Z. (1985). Cohesion in the narratives of normal and language-disordered children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 28, 123–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lorch, E. P., Eastham, D., Milich, R., Lemberger, C. C., Sanchez, R. P., & Welsh, R. (2004). Difficulties in comprehending causal relations among children with ADHD: The role of cognitive engagement. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 56–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucangeli, D., & Cabrele, S. (2006). Mathematical difficulties and ADHD. Exceptionality, 14, 53–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCloskey, G., Perkins, L. A., & Dinner, B. V. (2009). Assessment and intervention for executive function difficulties. New York: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Martinussen, R., Hayden, J., Hogg-Johnson, S., & Tannock, R. (2005). A meta-analysis of working memory impairments in children with attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 377–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marzocchi, G. M., Oosterland, J., Zuddas, A., Cavolina, P., Geurts, H., Redigolo, D., et al. (2008). Contrasting deficits on executive functions between ADHD and reading disabled children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 532–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matza, L. S., Swensen, A. R., Flood, E. M., Secnik, K., & Leidy, N. K. (2004). Assessment of health-related quality of life in children: A review of conceptual, methodological, and regulatory issues. Value in Health, 7, 79–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayes, S. D., Calhoum, S. L., & Crowell, E. W. (2000). Learning disabilities and ADHD: Overlapping spectrum disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 417–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miranda, A., Meliá de Alba, A., & Marco, R. (2009). Habilidades matemáticas y funcionamiento ejecutivo de niños con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad y dificultades del aprendizaje de las matemáticas. Psicothema, 21, 63–69.Google Scholar
Miranda, A., Soriano, M., & García, R. (2006). Reading comprehension and written composition problems of children with ADHD: Discussion of research and methodological considerations. In Scruggs, T. & Mastropieri, M. (Eds), Advances in behavioral and learning disabilities (Vol. 19, pp. 237–256). Boston: Elsevier JAI Press.Google Scholar
Miranda, A., Ygual, A., & Rosel, J. (2004). Complejidad gramatical y mecanismos de cohesión en la pragmática comunicativa de los niños con TDAH. Revista de Neurología, 38, 111–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niggs, J. T. (2001). Is ADHD a disinhibitory disorder? Psychological Bulletin, 127, 571–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olive, T., Kellogg, R. T., & Piolat, A. (2001). The triple task technique for studying the process of writing. In Olive, T. & Levy, C. M. (Eds.),Contemporary tools and techniques for studying writing (pp. 31–58). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Olive, T., Kellogg, R. T., & Piolat, A. (2008). Verbal, visual, and spatial working memory demands during text composition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 29, 669–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C., & McCabe, A. (1983). Developmental psycholinguistics: Three ways of looking at a child's narrative. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purvis, K. L., & Tannok, R. (2000). Phonological processing, not inhibitory control, differentiates ADHD and reading disability. Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 39, 485–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapport, M. D., Alderson, R. M., Kofler, M. J., Sarver, D. E., Bolden, J., & Sims, V. (2008). Working memory deficits in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The contribution of central executive and subsystem. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 825–837.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Re, A., Caeran, M., & Cornoldi, C. (2008). Improving expressive writing skills of children rated for ADHD symptoms. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 535–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Re, A., & Cornoldi, C. (2010). ADHD expressive writing difficulties of ADHD children:whwn good declarative knowledge is not sufficient. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 25, 315–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Re, A. M., Pedron, M., & Cornoldi, C. (2007). Expressive writing. Difficulties in children described as exhibiting ADHD symptoms. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40, 244–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reid, R., & Lienemann, T. (2006). Self-regulated strategy development for written expression with students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Exceptional Children, 73, 53–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Resta, S. P., & Elliot, J. (1994). Written expression in boys with attention deficit disorder. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, 1131–1138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodríguez, C., & García, J. N. (2008). El trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) y las dificultades de aprendizaje en la composición escrita: un estudio comparativo. In González-Pienda, J. A. & Núñez, J. C. (Eds.), Actas del V Congreso Internacional de Psicología y Educación (pp. 1657–1664). Oviedo: Ediciones de la Universidad de Oviedo.Google Scholar
Sawyer, M. G., Whaites, L., Rey, J. M., Hazell, P. L., Graetz, B. W., &, Baghurst, P. (2002). Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with mental disorders. Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 530–537.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scarborough, H. (1990). Index of productive syntax. Applied Psycholinguistics, 11, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scarborough, H. S., Rescorla, L., Tager-Flusberg, H., Fowler, A. E., & Sudhalter, V. (1991). The relation of utterance length to grammatical complexity in normal and language-disordered groups. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 23–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1986). Research on written composition. In Wittrock, C. M. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Schnoes, C., Reid, R., Wagner, M., & Marder, C. (2006). ADHD among students receiving special education services: A national survey. Exceptional Children, 72, 483–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoemaker, M., Ketelaars, C., van Zonneveld, M., Minderaa, R. B., & Mulder, T. (2005). Deficits in motor control processes involved in production of graphic movements of children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 47, 390–395.Google ScholarPubMed
Serra, M., Serrat, E., Bel, A., & Aparici, M. (2000). La Adquisición del Lenguaje. Madrid: Ariel.Google Scholar
Shanahan, M., Yerys, B., Scott, A., Willcutt, E. G., & Pennington, B. F. (2006). Processing speed deficits in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and reading disability. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 585–602.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shanahan, T. (2006). Relations among oral language, reading, and writing development. In MacArthur, C. A., Graham, S., & Fitzgerald, J. (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 171–186). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Siguán, M., Colomina, R., & Vila, I. (1990). Metodología para el estudio del lenguaje infantil. Barcelona: Abril.Google Scholar
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. (2005). Causal models of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: From common simple deficits to multiple developmental pathways. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1231–1238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soriano, M., García, R., & Baixauli, I. (2008). Dificultades en la expresión escrita de los niños con TDAH. In González-Pienda, J. A. & Núñez, J. C. (Eds.), Actas del V Congreso Internacional de Psicología y Educación (pp. 1905–1910). Oviedo: Ediciones de la Universidad de Oviedo.Google Scholar
Strong, C. (1998). The strong narrative assessment procedure. Eau Claire: Thinking Publications.Google Scholar
Swanson, H. L., & Berninger, V. W. (1996). Individual differences in children's working memory and writing skill. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 63, 358–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tannock, R., Purvis, K. L., & Schachar, R. J. (1993). Narrative abilities in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and normal peers. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 103–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Templin, M. C. (1957). Certain language skills in children: Their development and interrelationships. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, L., & Reid, R. (2010). Improving the persuasive essay writing of high school students with ADHD. Exceptional Children, 76, 157–174.Google Scholar
Vandenberg, R., & Swanson, H. L. (2007). Which components of working memory are important in the writing process? Reading and Writing, 20, 721–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1993). WISC-R. Escala de Inteligencia para Niños Revisada [Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children]. Madrid: TEA.Google Scholar
Willcutt, E. G., Betjemann, R. S., Pennington, B. F., Olson, R. K., DeFries, J. C., & Wadsworth, S. J. (2007). Longitudinal study of reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Implications for education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 4, 181–192CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willcutt, E. G., Doyle, A. E., Nigg, J. T., Faraone, S. V., & Pennington, B. F. (2005). Validity of the executive function theory of the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analytic review. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1336–1346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zentall, S. S., Smith, Y. N., Lee, Y. B., & Wieczorek, C. (1994). Mathematical of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 510–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed