Poster Session 10 Program Schedule
02/17/2024
09:00 am - 10:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental | Congenital Conditions
Final Abstract #93
Writing Skills in ADHD: Contributions of Executive Functions and Processing Speed
Francesca Trane, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States
Katie Paulich, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States
Deepika Dokuru, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States
Erik Willcutt, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States
Category: ADHD/Attentional Functions
Keyword 1: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Keyword 2: academic achievement
Keyword 3: academic skills
Objective:
Writing is one of our most important, yet complex forms of communication. Many students struggle to develop the skills needed to effectively translate their ideas into text. In fact, almost three quarters of U.S. students perform below grade level expectations in writing (NAEP, 2011). Among students at greater risk of underachievement in writing are children with ADHD (Graham et al., 2016). However, very little empirical attention has been devoted to understanding the mechanisms by which ADHD impacts writing composition. Here, we aim to address this gap by presenting findings from two studies that explore the relations between ADHD, cognitive skills, and writing abilities. In study 1, we examined whether ADHD status uniquely predicted writing composition performance even after controlling for transcription skills (i.e., handwriting and spelling). In study 2, we examined whether the association between inattention symptoms and writing composition was partially mediated by executive functions and processing speed, in addition to transcription skills.
Participants and Methods:
Participants were from a large community twin sample of children and adolescents. They included 518 children with ADHD and a control group of 851 children without ADHD (ages 8-18) who were assessed on a comprehensive battery of academic and cognitive measures. ADHD status was assessed through parent and teacher ratings of symptoms of DSM-IV ADHD. Participants’ handwriting, spelling, and writing composition skills were assessed through multiple, standardized writing measures. Cognitive measures included multiple assessments of executive functions, including working memory and inhibition, and processing speed.
Results:
Results of study 1 demonstrated that ADHD independently predicted writing composition, and this finding was consistent across the three measures of writing composition used in the study. For study 2, preliminary results from SEM analyses indicate that multiple mediation effects are significant, and that executive functions, processing speed, and transcription skills together account for almost 60% of the association between inattention and writing composition. Multigroup models will be examined and discussed.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that weaknesses in executive functions and processing speed help explain a significant proportion of the association between ADHD symptoms and writing composition. However, deficits in these cognitive skills do not fully account for the writing difficulties observed in ADHD and additional factors should be explored in future research.
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