Use of Children’s Communication Checklist-2 to identify Communication Problems in Kannada Speaking Preschool Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

To the editor, C ommunication disorders, which include language disorder (LD), speech-sound disorder, and so on, often occur with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 1,2 Among children with ADHD, 35%-50% have LD. 3 The co-occurrence of LD and ADHD negatively affects academic and social aspects. 4 The language and communication profile of ADHD includes delays in first words, word combinations, receptiveexpressive language deficit, poor pragmatics topic maintenance, inappropriate physical proximity, excessive verbalization, frequent interruptions, and articulation problems. 5,6 Though Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM 5) uses the term LDs, the tool used in this study uses communication problems (CoP). Hence, in this paper, the term LD has been attributed to CoPs.It is imperative to study CoP in preschool children with ADHD (ADHD-PS) due to (a) varied communication profile, deficits in multiple domains, and their impact on several aspects, and (b) the dynamic/complex nature of language and the variability in its acquisition in the preschool period. However, referrals to identify CoP in ADHD-PS are often delayed due to dominating behavioral issues, creating a gap in service delivery. This necessitates the utilization of a specific tool for early identification of CoP in ADHD-PS in India too, as the country is linguistically and socio-culturally diverse. This should then be followed by intervention, which is critical to alleviate further socio-behavioral and academic problems.