Private and social speech in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder within a naturalistic communication setting

Objective: We analyzed to what extent dyads (pairs) of Finnish children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may show some limitations in private and social speech production within a dyadic communication setting. Method: Forty children with Typical Development (TD) and 28 children with ADHD from Finland participated in the study. They received a comprehensive evaluation of ADHD and IQ. Their parents answered a background questionnaire. Children were paired according to several variables, including diagnostic status (ADHD/TD) and age (8- or 10-year-olds). We examined private and social speech use within child dyads during play with a Lego set. The speech category analyses included inaudible private speech (muttering and whispering), silence (inner speech), and task-relevant or task-irrelevant private/social speech categories. Results: At 10 years of age, children with ADHD produced significantly less inaudible private speech and task-relevant private speech, as well as more task-irrelevant social speech, than age-matched children with TD. Furthermore, children with TD at 10 years of age produced significantly more inaudible private speech than 8-year-olds with TD. Conclusions: At 10 years of age, children with ADHD demonstrated delayed private speech internalization and difficulties in producing on-task self-directed speech as well as inhibiting task-irrelevant social speech, relative to same-age children with TD during social interaction with a peer. Typically developing children demonstrated a shift toward private speech internalization with age, from 8 to 10 years of age. Cross-cultural issues, setting effects, and clinical implications are discussed.