ABSTRACT
Purpose:
to analyze and compare the writing performance between students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and students with dyslexia.
Methods:
altogether, 27 children participated in the study, divided into the groups G-ADHD and G-Dyslexia. Their writing was assessed with a test that uses word and pseudoword dictation. The analysis addressed their writing level, word/pseudoword writing performance, and misspelling types. The groups were compared with the two-proportion z-test between two samples and the Mann-Whitney test (α = 0.05).
Results:
only one child in G-Dyslexia out of the 27 participating children was classified at the syllabic-alphabetical level. The others were classified at the alphabetical level, with no statistical difference between the groups in this item. The analysis of word/pseudoword writing performance revealed a difference between mean total scores, in which G-ADHD performed better. This group also had a higher percentage of children whose performance was classified as adequate for their age. There was a difference in misspellings between the groups in the omission of syllables, omission/addition of letters in complex syllables, and total performance - G-dyslexia made such errors more often.
Conclusion:
children with ADHD performed better in writing than the ones with dyslexia. However, writing cannot be used as a diagnostic marker between these conditions.
Keywords:
Language Development; Handwriting; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Dyslexia