Comparison of Electrophysiological Indices of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Comorbid With and Without Reading Disorder (ADHD & RD)

BackgroundAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder. Most children and adolescents with ADHD have at least some developmental or mental disorders identified from the early years of elementary school. The most common of these are educational and learning problems in these children, which are probably due to the attention deficits of these children. Therefore, it is expected that the cortical activity pattern of ADHD children is different from ADHD comorbid with learning disabilities, which we have examined in this study.MethodsThis study evaluated the pattern of cortical activity in children 6 to 12 years old with ADHD comorbid with and without the reading disorder (ADHD & RD) using 21-channel electroencephalography. Multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures in a 2 * 3 * 7 design and T-test was used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe results show that in ADHD children, the activity of different bands increases compared to ADHD comorbid with RD children. In the ADHD group compared to the ADHD comorbid with RD group, the theta/beta ratio in all three regions, especially the anterior region, is higher than the theta/alpha activity in those areas, and this group has significantly higher activity in all three brain regions, especially the anterior region, compared to ADHD comorbid with RD patients.ConclusionsFunctional changes in the left parietal cortex, which is part of the frontoparietal attention network and involved in phonological processing, reading, and calculation, are evident in children with ADHD comorbid with and without the reading disorder (ADHD & RD). However, ADHD without reading disorder shows more activation of the frontoparietal network than ADHD comorbid with reading disorder, and therefore it can be said that ADHD without reading disorder exerts more cognitive control. Therefore, it is likely to be possible to prevent educational problems in these children by using neurofeedback or prescribing drugs that increase the activity of the areas involved in attention.

Development of an Abbreviated Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ-Brief) Using a Machine Learning Approach

Several crucial reasons exist to identify whether an adult has had reading disorder (RD) and to predict a child’s likelihood of developing RD. The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) is among the most commonly used self-reported questionnaires. High ARHQ scores indicate an increased likelihood that an adult had RD as a child, and that their children may develop RD. This study focused on whether a subset of ARHQ items (ARHQ-brief) could be equally effective in assessing adults’ reading history as the full ARHQ. We used a machine learning approach, lasso (known as L1 regularization), and identified 6 of 23 items that resulted in the ARHQ-brief. Data from 97 adults and 47 children were included. With the ARHQ-brief, we report a threshold of 0.323 as suitable to identify past likelihood of RD in adults with a sensitivity of 72.4% and a specificity of 81.5%. Comparison of predictive performances between ARHQ-brief and the full ARHQ showed that ARHQ-brief explained an additional 10%–35.2% of the variance in adult and child reading. Furthermore, we validated ARHQ-brief’s superior ability to predict reading ability using an independent sample of 28 children. We close by discussing limitations and future directions.

A Mini Review: Visual and Auditory Perception in Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a reading disorder defined as the consequences of sensory impairment which can be quite tricky in diagnosis, as many symptoms of dyslexia tend to overlap with learning disabilities such as specific language Impairment (SLI), dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and a few others. However, as research keeps on progressing, a consensus has been made suggesting that dyslexia is commonly attributed to the impairment of auditory and visual perception. This review paper intends to discuss the detailed progression of research focusing on auditory and visual perception among dyslexics.

Neurofeedback Effects on EEG Connectivity in Children with Reading Disorder: I. Coherence

Electroencephalograms (EEGs) of children with reading disorder (RD) are characterized by higher power and coherence in slow frequencies (delta and theta bands) and lower power and coherence in the alpha band compared to EEGs of typically developed children. Neurofeedback (NFB) is useful for treating learning disorders by reinforcing the reduction of the theta/alpha ratio. This efficacy is supported by EEG power normalization and cognitive-behavioral improvement. To further explore brain changes in isolated areas, this study aimed to explore the effects of this NFB protocol on functional connectivity (coherence) in children with RD. Twenty children with RD and an abnormally high theta/alpha ratio underwent 30 sessions of NFB. After treatment, 90% of par-ticipants learned to decrease their theta/alpha ratio, and on average, children increased their reading accuracy and comprehension scores. Interhemispheric coherence diminished in the delta, theta and beta bands, mainly between frontopolar regions. Intrahemispheric coherence decreased in delta, theta and beta bands and increased in alpha band. The reduction in theta coherence be-tween the left frontal area and other regions of the left hemisphere had particular relevance for reading. These results suggest that this NFB treatment could positively impact reading-related functions in the brain networks of children with RD.

The role of grit and resilience in children with reading disorder: a longitudinal cohort study

Prior studies have suggested that grit and resilience predict both academic and career success. However, these qualities have not been examined in children with reading disorder (RD). We therefore investigated whether grit and resilience were associated with anxiety, depression, academic performance, and quality of life (QOL) in these students. This 3-year longitudinal cohort study included 163 participants with RD from 3 schools. Evaluations were completed by parents and/or teachers every 3 months. The Grit and Resilience Scale was adapted from the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and the 12-item Grit Scale. Outcome measures included anxiety (School Anxiety Scale – Teacher Report and the 8-item Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale), depression (Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire), academic performance, and QOL (Pediatric QOL Inventory 4.0). Multivariate linear regression models (adjusting for age and sex) assessed the associations at baseline. Repeated measures analysis using mixed-effects models assessed the relationship longitudinally. There were statistically significant associations between grit and resilience and all outcomes at baseline and over time. After adjusting for age and sex, improved grit and resilience was associated with decreased anxiety (β = − 0.4, p < 0.001) and improved academic performance (β = 0.5, p < 0.001) when grit and resilience was measured by teachers, as well as decreased depression (β = − 0.3, p < 0.001) and improved QOL (β = 0.6, p < 0.001) when grit and resilience was measured by parents. Grit and resilience are significantly related to mental health, academic performance, and QOL in children with RD. This suggests that interventions to improve grit and resilience may lead to positive benefits.

Lancaster_etal_2021_JRR_preprint

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selective visual attention (SVA), reading decoding, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension in children with and without a reading disorder.Methods: We used longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We split children into four groups: Typical Readers, Dyslexics, Poor Comprehenders, and Comorbid Reading Disorder. We included measures of single word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phonological processing, vocabulary, receptive language, nonverbal intelligence, selective attention, and reading comprehension. We used ANOVA, correlations, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between SVA and reading. We fit two possible models: SVA Indirect and SVA Direct. The difference between these models was the inclusion of a direct path from SVA to reading comprehension.Results: We examined an indirect model, where SVA predicted reading comprehension through word decoding and listening comprehension, and a direct model, which included a pathway from SVA to reading comprehension. Based on our ANOVA and correlation results, we collapsed the Dyslexic, Poor Comprehenders, and Comorbid Reading Disorder Groups for the SEM. We found evidence that for Typical Readers, an indirect model was the best fit, whereas the direct model was the best model for children with a reading disorder.Conclusions: Selective visual attention is related to reading comprehension. This relationship differs for children with and without a reading disorder.