Private and social speech in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder within a naturalistic communication setting
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.19545Keywords:
ADHD, private speech, social speech, primary school children, inner speech, cross-cultural, Attention Deficit with HyperactivityAbstract
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.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Baird, J., Stevenson, J. C., and Williams, D. C. (2000). The evolution of ADHD: A disorder of communication? Quarterly Review of Biology, 75(1), 17–35. https://doi.org/10.1086/393256
Barkley, R. A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.65
Barkley, R. A. (Ed.) (2015). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Berk, L. E., and Landau, S. (1993). Private speech of learning disabled and normally achieving children in classroom academic and laboratory context. Child Development, 64, 556–571. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131269
Berk, L. E., and Potts, M. K. (1991). Development and functional significance of private speech among attention-deficit hyperactivity disordered and normal boys. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 357–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00911237
Cardy, J. E. O., Tannock, R., Johnson, A. M., and Johnson, C. J. (2010). The contribution of processing impairments to SLI: Insights from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(2), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2009.09.003
Cordier, R., Munro, N., Wilkes-Gillan, S., and Docking, K. (2013). The pragmatic language abilities of children with ADHD following a play-based intervention involving peer-to-peer interactions. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15(4), 416–428. https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2012.713395
Corkum, P., Humphries, K., Mullane, J. C., and Theriault, F. (2008). Private speech in children with ADHD and their typically developing peers during problem-solving and inhibition tasks. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(1), 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.12.003
Damico, J. S., and Augustine, L. E. (1995). Social considerations in the labeling of students as attention deficit hyperactivity disordered. Seminars in Speech and Language, 16(4), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1064126
Damico, J. S., Augustine, L. E., and Hayes, P. A. (1996). Formulating a functional model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for the practicing speech-language pathologist. Seminars in Speech and Language, 17(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1064085
Damico, J. S., Damico, S. K., and Armstrong, M. B. (1999). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and communication disorders. Issues and clinical practices. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 8(1), 37–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1056-4993(18)30195-0
De Diego-Balaguer, R., Martinez-Alvarez, A., and Pons, F. (2016). Temporal attention as a scaffold for language development. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 44. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00044
Dewaele, J.-M. (2015). From obscure echo to language of the heart: Multilinguals’ language choices for emotional inner speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 87, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2015.06.014
Diaz, R., and Berk, L. (1995). A Vygotskian critique of self-instructional training. Development and Psychopathology, 7(2), 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400006568
Diaz, R. M., and Lowe, J. R. (1987). The private speech of young children at risk: A test of three deficit hypotheses. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2(2), 181–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/0885-2006(87)90043-3
Fairman, K. A., Peckham, A. M., and Sclar, D. A. (2017). Diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in the United States: Update by gender and race. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(1), 10–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054716688534
Girbau, D. (1996). Private and social speech in communication: Terminology and distinctive traits. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 25(4), 507–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01706348
Girbau, D. (2002a). Private and social speech in children’s dyadic communication in naturalistic context. Anuario de Psicología, 33(3), 339–354.
Girbau, D. (2002b). A sequential analysis of private and social speech in children’s dyadic communication. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 5(2), 110–118. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1138741600005886
Girbau, D. (2014). Psicología de la comunicación [Psychology of communication]. Barcelona: Ariel.
Girbau, D., and Boada, H. (1996). Private meaning and comparison process in children’s referential communication. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 25(3), 379–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01726998
Girbau, D., and Boada, H. (2004). Accurate referential communication and its relation with private and social speech in a naturalistic context. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 7(2), 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1138741600004789
Goyette, C. H., Conners, C. K., and Ulrich, R. F. (1978). Normative data on revised Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6(2), 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919127
Grodzinsky, G. (1990). Assessing frontal lobe functioning in 6- to 11-year-old-boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Boston College.
Hammer, K. (2017). Language through a prism: Patterns of L2 internalisation and use in acculturated bilinguals. Journal of Pragmatics, 117, 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.06.006
Hinshaw, S. P. (2018). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Controversy, developmental mechanisms, and multiple levels of analysis. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 14(1), 291–316. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050817-084917
Hinshaw, S. P., Scheffler, R. M., Fulton B. D., Aase, H., Banaschewski, T., Cheng, W., …, and Weiss, M. D. (2011). International variation in treatment procedures for ADHD: Social context and recent trends. Psychiatric Services, 62(5), 459–464. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.5.pss6205_0459
Humphreys, K. L., Watts, E. L., Dennis, E. L., King, L. S., Thompson, P. M., and Gotlib, I. H. (2018). Stressful life events, ADHD symptoms, and brain structure in early adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47, 421–432. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0443-5
Kofler, M. J., Irwin, L. N., Soto, E. F., Groves, N. B., Harmon, S. L., and Sarver, D. E. (2018). Executive functioning heterogeneity in pediatric ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47, 273–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0438-2
Kohlberg, L., Yaeger, J., and Hjertholm, E. (1968). Private speech: Four studies and a review of theories. Child Development, 39(3), 691–736. https://doi.org/10.2307/1126979
Korhonen, T. (1986). Some principles of self-instructional training with hyperactive-impulsive children. Scandinavian Journal of Behaviour Therapy, 15(4), 179–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506078609456242
Lee, H. K., Jeong, J. H., Kim, N. Y., Park, M. H., Kim, T. W., Seo, H. J., …, and Han, J. H. (2014). Sleep and cognitive problems in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 10, 1799–1805. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S69562
Martel, M. M., Levinson, C. A., Langer, J. K., and Nigg, J. T. (2016). A network analysis of developmental change in ADHD symptom structure from preschool to adulthood. Clinical Psychological Science, 4(6), 988–1001. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702615618664
Meichenbaum, D. H., and Goodman, J. (1971). Training impulsive children to talk to themselves: A means of developing self-control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 77(2), 115–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0030773
Meichenbaum, D. H., and Goodman, S. (1979). Clinical use of private speech and critical questions about its study in natural settings. In G. Zivin (Ed.), The development of self-regulation through private speech (pp. 325–360). New York: Wiley.
Mulvihill, A., Carroll, A., Dux, P. E., and Matthews, N. (2020). Self-directed speech and self-regulation in childhood neurodevelopmental disorders: Current findings and future directions. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579418001670
Nyman, A., Taskinen, T., Grönroos, M., Haataja, L., Lähdetie. J., and Korhonen, T. (2010). Elements of working memory as predictors of goal-setting skills in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(6), 553–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219410375001
Normand, S., Soucisse, M. M., Vézina Melançon, M. P., Schneider, B. H., Lee, M. D., and Maisonneuve, M. F. (2019). Observed free-play patterns of children with ADHD and their real-life friends. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47, 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0437-3
Pellegrini, A. D. (1981). The development of preschoolers’ private speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 5(5), 445–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(81)90028-X
Raven, J. C., Raven, J. E., and Court, J. H. (1990). Manual for Raven’s Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales: Coloured Progressive Matrices (1990 Edition, with US Norms). Oxford: Oxford Psychologists Press.
Re, A. M., Capodieci, A., and Cornoldi, C. (2015). Effect of training focused on executive functions (attention, inhibition, and working memory) in preschoolers exhibiting ADHD symptoms. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01161
Redmond, S. M. (2020). Clinical intersections among idiopathic language disorder, social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(10), 3263–3276. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00050
Rubia, K. (2018). Cognitive neuroscience of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its clinical translation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00100
Salkind, N. J. (1978). Development of norms for the Matching Familiar Figures Test. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 8, 61.
Sayal, K., Prasad, V., Daley, D., Ford, T., and Coghill, D. (2018). ADHD in children and young people: Prevalence, care pathways, and service provision. Lancet Psychiatry, 5(2), 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30167-0
Smith, M. (2017). Hyperactive around the world? The history of ADHD in global perspective. Social History of Medicine, 30(4), 767–787. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkw127
Staikova, E., Gomes, H., Tartter, V. C., McCabe, A., and Halperin, J. M. (2013). Pragmatic deficits and social impairment in children with ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 54(12), 1275–1283. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12082
Thomas R., Sanders S., Doust J., Beller E., and Glasziou P. (2015). Prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatrics 135, e994–e1001. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-3482
Vissers, C. T., Tomas, E., and Law, J. (2020). The emergence of inner speech and its measurement in atypically developing children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00279
Vygotsky, L. S. (1987 [1934]). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol. 1. Problems of general psychology, including the volume ‘Thinking and speech’ (Eds. R. W. Rieber and A. S. Carton; Trans. N. Minick). New York: Plenum Press.
Watson, J. B. (1983 [1919]). Psychology from the standpoint of a behaviourist. London: Frances Pinter.
Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.
Willcutt, E. G., Nigg, J. T., Pennington, B. F., Solanto, M. V., Rohde, L. A., Tannock, R., …, and Lahey, B. B. (2012). Validity of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom dimensions and subtypes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(4), 991–1010. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027347
Winsler, A. (1998). Parent–child interaction and private speech in boys with ADHD. Applied Developmental Science, 2(1), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532480xads0201_2
Winsler, A. (2009). Still talking to ourselves after all these years: A review of current research on private speech. In A. Winsler, C. Fernyhough, and I. Montero (Eds.), Private speech, executive functioning, and the development of verbal self-regulation (pp. 3–41). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511581533.003
Winsler, A., Manfra, L., and Diaz, R. M. (2007). ‘Should I let them talk?’: Private speech and task performance among preschool children with and without behavior problems. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 215–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2007.01.001
World Health Organization (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Zoëga, H., Furu, K., Halldórsson, M., Thomsen, P. H., Sourander, A., and Martikainen, J. E. (2011). Use of ADHD drugs in the Nordic countries: A population-based comparison study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 123, 360–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01607.x
