Linguagem em crianças de sete a doze anos de idade, com Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade

Abstract

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by deficits related to attention periods, handling of impulses and level of cognitive activity. Purpose: to investigate the association between inattention and hyperactivity symptoms with language development and cognitive, environmental and socioeconomic aspects and quality of life in children with ADHD. Method: it is an observational analytic cross-sectional study with a probability sample stratified by gender. Thirty eight children diagnosed with ADHD were forwarded by the Child Psychiatry, Neurology and Pediatric Units of the Medical School (Hospital das Clínicas) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The study was conducted in two stages: 1) instruments applied to parents: anamnesis, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Assessment Protocol of the Resources of the Family Environment (RAF), MTA-SNAP-IV scale, Brazilian Economic Classification Criterion (CCEB) and questionnaire about quality of life and health (PedsQL); 2) evaluation of the children: Token Test; Rapid Automatic Naming Test (RAN); Phonological Working Memory Test; Child Language Test (ABFW), part of vocabulary; USP Picture Vocabulary Test (Tvfusp); dictation of words and pseudo words; Phonological Awareness Test, Syntactic Awareness Test; Reading Process Assessment Tests (PROLEC). For the data analysis, a descriptive analysis of all variables of the study was performed through the distribution of absolute and relative frequency of the categorical variables and numerical synthesis of continuous variables. For the association analyses, the response and other explanatory variables were considered. For the categorical variables, the Pearson Chi-square Tests were used to analyze the associations. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for continuous variables with symmetric distribution, and the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used for variables with asymmetric distribution. The significance level of 5% and confidence interval of 95% were adopted for all analyses. Results: Regarding the profile of the participating children, it is highlighted: 15.8% are from the private education system; 23.7% are illiterate and most families, 31.6%, was classified as B2 class. Regarding ADHD symptoms, there was predominance of inattention and hyperactivity. Regarding quality of life, the psychosocial health presented a lower score; the resources of the family environment were characterized by a lower score in the field Family/School Connection. Regarding children evaluation results, inadequacy was found in the following areas: verbal comprehension; phonological working memory for words and digits presented in reverse order; rapid automatic naming; receptive vocabulary; reading words and pseudo words; writing; phonological awareness and syntactic awareness. Conclusion: this study enabled the characterization of the profile and the evaluation of various aspects related to the development of children with ADHD. It is believed that this is the first step to understand the disorder and for the development of actions to assist the child with ADHD.