Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interfere with functioning in multiple settings, affecting about 5% of children globally, with a greater prevalence in boys. The DSM-5 outlines specific diagnostic criteria, including symptom persistence for at least six months and the presence of symptoms in various contexts. ADHD can co-occur with other disorders and is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, with effective educational strategies identified for managing its impact in school settings.

2. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• The term ADHD refers to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, a condition that makes it difficult for children
to pay attention and/or control their behavior.
• A persistent patterns of inattention and/or
hyperactivity- impulsivity that interferes with
functioning or development.
• Symptoms are presents in multiple settings (e.g., school
and home), that can result in performance issues in
social, educational, or work settings.
• Symptoms are divided into 3 categories

4. • Population surveys suggest that ADHD occurs
in most cultures in about 5% of children. More
boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD.

5. Inattentive Symptoms
• Making careless mistakes
• Trouble paying attention to a task
• Not listening
• Not following instructions
• Trouble organizing
• Avoiding or disliking sustained effort
• Losing things
• Easily distracted
• Forgetful
• Frequently avoids things that require ongoing
mental efforts

6. Hyperactive/Impulsive Symptoms
Hyperactive:
Often twist the body from side to side, fidgets, or bounces
when sitting
• Doesn't stay seated
• leaving their seat at inappropriate times
• Has trouble playing quietly
• Is always moving, such as running or climbing on things
(In teens and adults, this is more commonly described
as restlessness.)
• Talks excessively
• Is always “on the go” as if “driven by a motor”

7. Impulsivity
(May reflect a desire for immediate rewards or an
inability to delay satisfaction)
• Has trouble waiting for his or her turn
• Blurts out answers
• Interrupts others

8. DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria
• A) Persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-
impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development, as
characterized by (1) and/or(2)
1 inattention: Six (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted
for at least 6 months to a degree that is inconsistent with
developmental level and that negatively impacts directly on social
and academic/occupational activities:
• For older adolescents and adults (age 17 and older), at least five
symptoms are required.
a) Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless
mistakes in schoolwork , at work or during other activities (e.g .,
overlooks or misses details, work is inaccurate.)
b) Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
(e.g., has difficulty remaining focused during lectures,
conversations, or lengthy reading).

9. DSM-V
c) Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly (e.g.,
mind seems elsewhere, even in the absence of any obvious
distraction).
d) Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to
finish schoolwork, or duties in the workplace (e.g., starts tasks
but quickly loses focus and is easily sidetracked).
e) Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities (e.g.,
difficulty managing tasks in sequence; difficulty keeping
materials and belongings in order; messy, disorganized work;
has poor time management; fails to meet deadlines).
f) Often avoids, dislikes, or is unwilling to engage in tasks that
require sustained mental effort (e.g., schoolwork or
homework; for older adolescents and adults, preparing reports,
completing forms, reviewing lengthy papers).

10. g) Often loses things necessary for tasks or
activities (e.g., school materials, pencils,
books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork,
eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
h) Is often easily distracted by unnecessary
stimuli (for older adolescents and adults, may
include unrelated thoughts).
i) Is often forgetful in daily activities (e.g., doing
everyday jobs, for older adolescents and
adults, returning calls, paying bills, keeping
appointments).

11. Hyperactivity and Impulsivity:
2 ) Six (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted for at least
6 months to a degree that is inconsistent with developmental level
and that negatively impacts directly on social and
academic/occupational activities:
Note: For older adolescents and adults (age 17 and older), at least
five symptoms are required.
a. Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet or twist in seat.
b. Often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected
(e.g., leaves his or her place in the classroom, in the office or other
workplace, or in other situations that require remaining in place).
c. Often runs about or climbs in situations where it is inappropriate.
(Note: In adolescents or adults, may be limited to feeling restless.)
d. Often unable to play or engage in leisure activities quietly.

12. • e) Is often “on the go,” acting as if “driven by a motor” (e.g., is
unable to be or uncomfortable being still for extended time,
as in restaurants, meetings; may be experienced by others as
being restless or difficult to keep up with).
• f. Often talks excessively.
• g. Often blurts out an answer before a question has been
completed (e.g., completes people’s sentences; cannot wait
for turn in conversation).
• h. Often has difficulty waiting his or her turn (e.g., while
waiting in line).
• i. Often interrupts others (e.g., in conversations, games, or
activities; may start using other people’s things without asking
or receiving permission; for adolescents and adults, may
interrupt into or take over what others are doing).

13. DSM-5 CONT
• B. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms
were present prior to age 12 years.
• C. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are
present in two or more settings (e.g., at home, school, or
work; with friends or relatives; in other activities).
• D. There is clear evidence that the symptoms interfere with,
or reduce the quality of, social, academic, or occupational
functioning.
• E. The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of
schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder and are not
better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., mood
disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, personality
disorder, substance intoxication or withdrawal).

14. Sub Types
Combined Presentation:
If both Criterion A1 (inattention) and Criterion A2 (hyperactivity-
impulsivity) are met for the past 6 months.
Predominantly Inattentive Presentation:
If Criterion A1 (inattention) is met but Criterion A2
(hyperactivity-impulsivity) is not met for the past 6 months.
Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Presentation:
If Criterion A2 (hyperactivity- impulsivity) is met and Criterion
A1 (inattention) is not met for the past 6 months.

15. Specify Current Severity
• Mild: Few, if any, symptoms in excess of those
required to make the diagnosis are present, and
symptoms result in no more than minor
impairments in social or occupational functioning.
• Moderate: Symptoms or functional impairment
between “mild” and “severe” are present.
• Severe: Many symptoms in excess of those
required to make the diagnosis, or several
symptoms that are particularly severe, are
present, or the symptoms result in marked
impairment in social or occupational functioning.

16. Categories for Individuals not Meeting Full Criteria
When full criteria are not met, symptoms that are
present create clinically significant distress or
impairment in functioning, and the clinician chooses
to convey why full criteria are not met. For example
"Other specified ADHD with insufficient inattention
symptoms". Unspecified ADHD should be used in the
same circumstance except that the clinician chooses
not to specify the reason that full criteria are not met
and making a more specific diagnosis is not possible.

17. Associated Features
May also include
• Impaired academic achievement (especially among
the predominantly inattentive type)
• Peer rejection (especially among the
hyperactive/impulsive type)
• Poor achievement
• De-motivation
• Family discord
• Negative parent-child interactions

18. Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics
• Behavioral inhibition: involves the ability to delay a
response, interrupt an ongoing response. inability to wait
one’s turn, interrupt conversations, to resist mental
efforts while working. Temper outbursts, Stubbornness,
Discouragement, and Poor self esteem can also the
characteristics of ADHD.
• Child having ADHD also face the problem to self-regulate
their behavior. Individuals with ADHD have deficits in
executive functions like controlling their emotions. These
individuals tend to get over stimulated and overreact, like
one might shout at hearing a piece of good news.

19. Psychological and Behavioral
Characteristics(cont.)
Time awareness and management is also a
hard concept for individuals with ADHD.
Social behavior problems: students with ADHD
are often less liked by their peers, as their
peers think that they are too much to handle,
which is a result in the deficit of self-
regulation.

20. Co-occurring Disorders
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Intellectual Disability
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Conduct Disorder
• Tic Disorders
• Anxiety
• Depression
• OCD
• Giftedness
½ of ADHD patients have > 2 diagnoses

21. Causes of ADHD
Genetic Factors
Research shows that ADHD tends to run in families, so
there are likely to be genetic influences. Most of
children who have ADHD usually have at least one
close relative who also has ADHD. And at least one-
third of all fathers who had ADHD in their youth have
children with ADHD. Even more convincing of a
possible genetic link is that when one twin of an
identical twin pair has the disorder, the other is likely
to have it too.
Heritability Twin studies reveal that AD/HD is highly
heritable.

22. • Prenatal Causes
 include chromosomal abnormality, developmental cerebral abnormality,
maternal anemia, (Anemia is a medical condition in which there is not
enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to the tissues in the body.
When the tissues do not receive an adequate amount of oxygen, many
organs and functions are affected.
Anemia during pregnancy is especially a concern because it is associated
with low birth weight, premature birth and maternal mortality. Women who are
pregnant are at a higher risk for developing anemia due to the excess amount
of blood the body produces to help provide nutrients for the baby.)
 Toxemia of pregnancy ( It is characterized by high blood pressure; swelling
of the hands, feet and face; and an excessive amount of protein in the urine.
)
 Brain injuries due to pre-natal problems.

23. Other Environmental Factors in Pre Natal time period
• sometimes suspected are exposure to lead and pesticides (a substance
used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated
plants or to animals) in the water and diet,
• lack of iodine and hypothyroidism.
• Poor nutrition, infections, and substance abuse including alcohol use,
cocaine abuse, and tobacco smoke during pregnancy may be
contributing factors. Maternal smoking can leads to fetal
hypoxia .Nicotine causes disturbances to the dopamine systems in the
prefrontal cortex. They can affect the development of the baby’s brain.
• Exposure to viral infections, especially influenza (influenza is a viral
infection that attacks your respiratory system — nose, throat and
lungs)and viral exanthema (An exanthema is a rash on the skin. "Viral"
means that the rash is a symptom of an infection due to a virus. Viral
exanthema can be caused by many viruses, such as entero viruses,
adenovirus, chickenpox, measles, rubella, mononucleosis, and certain
types of herpes infection) can also become the cause of ADHD.

24. • Cause not known exactly, but it is known that
evidence links ADHD to neurological
abnormalities.
• Possible differences in size of brain structures
and functions. The areas of the brain affected
the most include the prefrontal lobes, frontal
lobes ( Functional studies have exposed a
decrease in the metabolic activity in the right
frontal lobe), basal ganglia, cerebellum, and
corpus callosum.•

25. • Prefrontal and frontal lobes: are responsible for regulating
one’s own behavior.
• Basal Ganglia: responsible for the coordination and
control of motor behavior.
• Cerebellum: is only about 10% of the brain, but holds
more than half of the brain’s neurons. Is also responsible
for motor behavior.
• Corpus Callosum: connects the left and right hemisphere
of the brain, responsible for the communication between
the hemispheres.
• The two neurotransmitters involved are dopamine and
nor epinephrine. Dopamine has been associated with
approach and pleasure-seeking behaviors. Norepinephrine
plays a role in emotional/behavioral regulation.

28. Peri natal Etiological Factors
• Include hypoxic damage and anoxic damage during birth.
The damage is caused by inadequate oxygen reaching parts
of the brain while blood flow is reduced. (A complete
interruption of the supply of oxygen to the brain is referred
to as cerebral anoxia. If there is still a partial supply of
oxygen, but at a level which is inadequate to maintain
normal brain function, this is known as cerebral hypoxia).
• Prematurity
Even mild prematurity has negative consequences that include
increased risk for AD/HD.
• Breech delivery (A breech birth occurs when a baby is born
bottom first instead of head first.)
• Cerebral hemorrhage and encephalitis can also become the
cause of ADHD.

29. Post Natal Causes:
• The infant may have suffered a head injury or
meningitis (Meningitis is an swelling of the
protective membranes covering the brain and
spinal cord. A bacterial or viral infection of the
fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord
usually causes the swelling.
• Encephalitis (Encephalitis is an acute swelling
of the brain usually resulting from either a
viral infection or due to the body's own
immune system mistakenly attacking brain
tissue.

30. • Frequent attacks of otitis media (is a group of
inflammatory diseases), or low blood sugar.
• Drugs used to treat childhood illnesses,
asthma and epilepsy, frequently cause or
intensify hyperactive behavior and result in
attention and learning deficits.
• Exposure to toxins, such as lead in early
childhood can also affect brain development.

31. Environmental factors
Environmental factors are not the cause, but may contribute to the
expression, severity, course, and co morbid conditions
• Family stress.
• Family size
• Maternal mental disorder
• Educational difficulties
• A poor parenting practices
• Low socioeconomic status
• Poor nutrition

32. Diagnostic Procedures of ADHD
A variety of different procedures were
identified. Most could be classified into
categories like :
Interviews
Behavioral Observations
Behavior Rating Scales
DSM V Criteria
Psycho Educational Testing
 Medical Evaluations
School Record Reviews

33.  History of Symptoms
The precise nature of the difficulties, when they were first noticed, in what
situations they occur, factors that intensify or relive them.
 Medical History
 Risk factors that could predispose the child to ADHD include difficulties
and risks in pregnancy and during birth, for example if the mother was in
poor health, very young or drank alcohol or smoked or had an extended or
complicated labor.
 Many medical conditions are known to be associated with ADHD. These
include fragile-X syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, phenylketonuria and
generalized resistance to thyroid hormone.
 Accidents, operations and chronic medical conditions such as epilepsy,
asthma , heart, liver and kidney disorders all need to be taken into
account. Also of possible significance if any medication the child is taking,
as well as any adverse reactions they have had to medication in the past.

34.  Past Psychiatric History
Enquiring about any mental health problems can help to rule
out depression or anxiety being behind the symptoms.
 Educational history
This means the level of their ability and what specific
difficulties they have, how they function within their peer
group and get on with teachers, and any behavior
difficulties such as suspensions or exclusions.
A more detailed evaluation of the child’s learning by a
psychologist may be necessary.

35.  Evaluation of the Child’s Temperament and Personality
The child’s temperament and personality , those of other family
members and the nature of relationships within the family may need
to be assessed. This will include discussions of the methods used by
the parents to manage the child’s behavior and how successful they
have been. Although this seems intrusive, the assessor will remain
neutral and parents should not feel the disorder is ‘their fault’ .
 Family History
The mental and physical health of the child’s parents and other
family members can be relevant. Also particularly regarding the
occurrence of ADHD.
 Social Assessment
The family’s social circumstances, such as housing , poverty , and
social support may all have an impact on the child’s behavior.

36. Diagnostic Interviews
• Help to answer the following questions:
–Are AD/HD symptoms are present?
–When did symptoms begin to present
problems?
–How long have symptoms been problematic?
Interview Types:
–Structured, semi structured, and unstructured
interview
interview with (Parents, care giver, teacher, and
child)

37. Behavioral Observations
Recommendations:
• –Should conduct several observations in
different settings given that symptoms may vary
across situations and times.
• –Should include the setting(s) where in the
student is reported to have his/her greatest
difficulty.
• –Classroom observations are particularly
important.

38. ADHD Symptom Specific Rating Scales
Scales have been developed to help screen,
evaluate, and track symptoms of ADHD in
children and teenagers.
• Conners Rating Scale
 Parent Rating Scale
 Teacher Rating Scale
 Self Rating Scale
• Vanderbilt ADHD Teacher Rating Scale
• Vanderbilt ADHD Parent Rating Scale

39. • Educational Considerations and managing the
child in schools:

40. Strategies for Working With Children having ADHD
When working with young children with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) , keep the
following points in mind:
• Educational Considerations and managing the child
in schools:
1. Task Duration
To accommodate to the student’s short attention span,
academic assignments should be brief and feedback
regarding accuracy should be immediate. Longer
projects should be broken up into manageable parts.
Short time limits for task completion should be
specified.

41. 2. Make each task specific … in other words;
instead of giving many directions at once , split the
directions into smaller steps. Make directions clear
and short. Repeat if necessary.
3. Give reminders to complete the task. It is
important to complete projects once started. It can
also enforced with timers . Help the ADHD child in
learning to sequence from beginning to end.

42. • 4. Use interesting materials; activities, visual and
auditory aids.
• 5. Reduce classroom clutter. Take down billboard,
objects hanging around.
• 6. Help the child with ADHD organize and keep their
work area free of clutter. Defined spaces for
everything helps.
• 7. Cut down noise and movement in the room. Take
a look at the child with ADHD is seated next to.
• 8.Checklists can be useful for anything e.g from
getting out of the house on time in the morning to
doing homework after school to the bedtime
routine.

43. • Structure and Organization
Lessons should be carefully structured and important points
clearly identified. For example, providing a lecture outline is a
helpful note-taking aid that increases memory of main ideas.
Students with ADHD show improved memory when material is
meaningfully structured for them.
• Rule Reminders and Visual Cues
The rules given to students with ADHD must be well defined,
specific, and frequently reinforced through visible modes of
presentation. Well-defined rules with clear consequences are
essential. Relying on the student’s memory of rules is not
sufficient. Visual rule reminders or cues should be placed
throughout the classroom. It is also helpful if rules are reviewed
before activity transitions and school breaks. For example,
token economy systems are especially effective when the rules
for these programs are reviewed daily.

44. • Pacing of Work
When possible, it is helpful to allow students with ADHD to set
their own pace for task completion. The intensity of
problematic ADHD behaviors is less when work is self paced,
as compared to situations where work is paced by others.
• Time-Out
Removing the student from reinforcement, or time-out,
typically involves removing the student from classroom
activities. Time-out can be effective in reducing aggressive
and disruptive actions in the classroom, especially when
these behaviors are strengthened by peer attention.
• Training of parents
Parents should get the training by therapists and implement
them at home. Typically group-based, weekly sessions with
therapist initially, then faded to booster sessions (monthly,
quarterly).

45. Productive Physical Movement
The student with ADHD may have difficulty sitting still.
Thus, productive physical movement should be planned. It is
appropriate to allow the student with ADHD opportunities
for
controlled movement. Examples might include a trip to the
office, a chance to sharpen a pencil, taking a note to another
teacher, watering the plants, feeding classroom pets, or
simply standing at a desk while completing class work.
Alternating seatwork activities with other activities that allow
for movement is essential. Teachers need to be flexible and
modify instructional demands accordingly.

46. • Talk less and use short sentences.
• Plan activities well. Think in advance what you will
do when child gets restless, cant’s sit still, and
can’t follow the lesson. Have plan B in place
BEFORE the problem occur.
• Reward correct responses . The child with ADHD is
only too aware of his/her failures.
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
• Be specific with praise. Instead of , “You did a good
job,” say, “I see you followed the instructions
perfectly! You put all the words in the right place.”

47. • Mix active and quiet periods. Give the child with
ADHD extra time to transition between them. Give
warnings as you come to an end of an active period so
the child has time to start readjusting their thinking.
• KEEP a routine, These children aren’t well structured
and a lot of their difficulties come from confusion, not
knowing what’s coming next, and anxiety or over
stimulation because of it.
• Furniture and room management
• One to one session

48. Treatment & Intervention
• Behavioral Interventions
– Behavioral Parent Training
– Behavioral Classroom Management
• Psychopharmacology
Stimulant Medications
• Psychotherapy
– Behavior Therapy
• Structuring time at home
• Establishing predictability and routines
• Increasing positive attention

49. – Parent Training
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
– School-based interventions
• Daily Report Card
– Skills Training

50. Behavioral Treatment Components
• Psycho education about ADHD
• Structure/routines
• Clear rules/expectations
• Attending/rewards
• Planned ignoring
• Effective commands
• Time out/loss of privileges
• Point/token systems
• Daily school-home report card

51. Speech and Language Problems and Therapy
The child with ADHD is more likely to have language processing difficulties
than a sample language delay.
In particular, the ADHD child with language problems can have auditory
processing difficulties such as;
1. Short –term auditory memory weakness
2. Problems in following instructions
3. inappropriate speed of processing written and spoken language
4. Difficulties listening in distracting environment e.g. the classroom
5. problems in listening for information when someone is reading,
expecting them to list – they may miss out on details, or get the details but
be unable to grasp the ‘main idea’
6. Getting information from reading comprehension
They can be have language difficulties related to their impulsivity and poor
organizational skills resulting in problems with classroom discourse

52. The signs of ADHD-related speech problems can vary from person to
person. If you’re living with ADHD, you may not feel that there are any
issues with how you speak, but others may disagree.
• rapid, nonstop talking
• disorganized thoughts
• interrupting or talking over others
• frequently changing topics
• trouble recalling words or specific details
• Social communication problems
• Problems with social understanding
• Problems with attention and listening skills
• Expressive language (verbal and written)
• Understanding of language
• Problem in Executive Function
• Non-verbal communication including facial expression, gestures

53. Speech
• People with ADHD have a higher risk of developing problems
with articulation. Articulation is the ability to produce specific
letter sounds.
• Differences in the quality and fluency of speech are also often
seen in people with ADHD. In some cases, this disorder has
been detected and diagnosed as a result of these differences.
• As an individual with ADHD works to organize their thoughts
when talking, using more filler words or repeating
sounds/words is common. This can lead to misunderstandings
from others and impatience and frustration from both the
person speaking and those who are listening and attempting to
understand them.

54. Language
• Processing and executing language is also commonly affected in people
with ADHD. People with this disorder have a higher risk of developing
significant language delays. It is also common for those with ADHD to
become easily distracted and lose their focus as they are speaking.
• They may also experience difficulties when it comes to finding the right
words and expressing their thoughts effectively. Challenges related to
planning and organizing can cause grammatical errors even when the
individual possesses strong grammatical skills.
• Children with ADHD also struggle with listening comprehension especially
when the person speaking is speaking rapidly or at length and they are in
a noisy environment (such as a classroom.) They may lose track of a
conversation when listening, missing entire components or details, and
can often appear to not be listening at all. These difficulties can have
academic and social implications, and some children with ADHD can
become so overwhelmed that they become withdrawn and refuse to
engage.

55. • Challenges in understanding spoken language
as a result of ADHD can sometimes be
incorrectly diagnosed as hearing impairment
or auditory processing disorder when in most
cases there is no problem with the auditory
pathway. The information is making it in, but
deficits with executive function mismanage
the information.

56. Language Disorders and Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder
The child or adolescent with ADHD will often present to the speech Language
Pathologist with a range of clinical problems in language that are
contributing to the learning disorder.
The types of language experienced by children with ADHD are varied and can
cover all the modalities of language. Typically problems are seen in:
• Syntax - the study of the formation of sentences. The arrangement of
words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Disorders of syntax (oral and written grammar) are difficulties using and
/or comprehending the structural components of sentences.
• Semantics:
The study of meaning.
Semantic difficulties in language involve problems with word meanings and
organization. School problems include difficulties comprehending written
and spoken language, poor vocabulary, word-finding difficulties and
difficulties using context to help with the comprehension of reading.

57. • Pragmatics:
Pragmatics is the term used for the social use of
language –i.e the ability to use language as a
means to interact with others socially or for a
specific purpose(e.g requesting information,
expressing feelings, holding a conversation with
people of different age levels).
• Metalinguistic
Is the branch of linguistics that studies language
and its relationship to other cultural behaviors. This
is the ability to reflect on language objectively – to
know and understand e.g. humor & multi meaning
in words etc).

58. • Related areas of difficulty
• Auditory processing:
Children with language problems often have related auditory processing
difficulties- particularly in the ADHD population. Problems can be found
in the areas of speed of processing, auditory memory, auditory
attention, processing of auditory information from reading and listening
can be a discrimination. Following directions or getting information
from reading and listening can be a nightmare for such children.
Metacognition: This is the ability to think about thinking in general. To
know what you know and to understand what you need to know in
order to learn effectively. Students with difficulties in this area cannot
be easily deal with the strategies involved in problem solving.

59. • The speech and language therapists will carry out an initial
assessment which will evaluate and identify the type and
severity of the difficulties the individual is experiencing in
their speech, language and communication. Following an
initial assessment and discussion with the individual and
their parents , the speech and language therapist will
implement an individualized treatment plan which will be
tailored to the specific needs and abilities of the individual
with ADHD. Speech and Language Therapists work to assess,
diagnose and develop a program of care to maximize the
communication potential of the people under their care.

60. When working with people who have ADHD , a Speech and Language Therapist
(SALT) will adapt the therapy given according to the presenting problem.
It is likely that the SLT will work on one of the following when giving therapy to a
person with ADHD:
• Listening and Attention Skills
• Play skills
• Social Understating
• Understanding of language
• Expressive Language
The above list may seem far removed from actually “teaching a child to speak”.
However, what must be remembered is that children develop, and learn to use
speech appropriately through skills such as playing and listening , paying
attention to other peoples use of communication .
• It is also important to remember that a child who does not communicate is
unlikely to speak. Therefore, any therapy offered by a SLT is initially likely to
focus on getting the child to communicate using something such as a signing
system, symbols system or picture system, rather than focusing on speech
alone.

61. There are many ways that a speech therapist can help with your child’s ADHD.
• If child is struggling with social communication because of their ADHD, a
speech language evaluation can assess your child’s social language skills,
such as making inferences and problem solving.
• If child has problems with literacy, a speech therapist can evaluate your
child’s literacy skills to help parents understand exactly where the
breakdowns are occurring.
• In the case of speech sound difficulties due to ADHD, a speech therapist can
teach the correct pronunciation of sounds.
• And when ADHD is impairing your child’s executive function, a speech
language evaluation can help pinpoint specific areas of executive function.
• Each child with ADHD has different needs, which might include other
learning disabilities or support around different social skills.