Psychiatric comorbidities in children with specific learning disability (original) (raw)

Psychiatric Comorbidities in Children with Specific Learning Disorder-Mixed Type: A Cross-sectional Study

Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice

Background Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition which frequently exhibits with comorbidities of other disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, anxiety, and depression. SLD with any comorbidity may affect the expression and severity of the SLD and may make its management difficult. Thus, the present cross-sectional study was planned to examine the psychiatric comorbidities among children with SLD. Materials and Methods The sample consisted of 41 patients aged between 7 and 12 years with a diagnosis of SLD-mixed type. Clinical and psychological assessment included the following tests for behavioral, anxiety, mood, and interpersonal problems: child behavior checklist, Mini-international Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID), and Conner’s 3 Parent Short form-45. Results The mean age of the participants was 9.8 years (standard deviation [SD] = 1.5). About 75.6% of participants were m...

Clinical and psychoeducational profile of children with specific learning disability and co-occurring attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2007

Almost 10% of school-going children have specific learning disability (SpLD) in the form of dyslexia, dysgraphia and/or dyscalculia. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurs as a comorbidity in about 20% of these children. To document the clinical profile and academic history of children with SpLD and co-occurring ADHD. Prospective observational study conducted in our clinic. From August to November 2004, 50 consecutively diagnosed children (34 boys, 16 girls) were included in the study. SpLD was diagnosed on the basis of psychoeducational testing. Diagnosis of ADHD was made by DSM-IV-revised criteria. Detailed clinical and academic history and physical and neurological examination findings were noted. Chi-square test or unpaired student's t-test was applied wherever applicable. The mean age of children was 11.4 years (+/-SD 2.5, range 7-17.1). Fifteen (30%) children had a significant perinatal history, 12 (24%) had delayed walking, 11 (22%) had delayed talking, 5 ...

Specific Learning Disorder in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare, 2018

BACKGROUND Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural and neurocognitive condition characterized by developmentally inappropriate and impairing levels of gross motor overactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. ADHD is often underdiagnosed and undertreated in countries like India which leads to increased burden and impairment in children and their family. Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is a disorder in one or more of the psychological processes involved in understanding and in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell and do mathematical calculations. Studies show SLD in upto 20-30% of children with ADHD. Children with SLD and ADHD have more severe learning problems. MATERIALS AND METHODS Subjects aged 7-16 years diagnosed with ADHD according to SNAP IV scale were included. Full psychiatric evaluation of the subjects was done. Parents were interviewed on first visit and teachers were contacted telephonically & interviewed on next visit. Subjects were then assessed for SLD using DSM-5 criteria. RESULTS Thirty subjects were assessed in this study. The mean age of subjects was 9.73 ± 2.63 with 93.33% males. 10% had a family history of ADHD while 20% had a developmental delay. 33.33% had SLD with Reading Disorder being the most common i.e. 23.33%. 16.66% had a Disorder of Written Expression while 10% had difficulty in Arithmetic. CONCLUSION SLD has been found to co-exist with ADHD and Reading Disorder being the most common. Children who have co-morbid SLD with ADHD have more severe impairments and may need adjunctive interventions.

Clinical and Sociodemographic Features of Children and Adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD)

American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 2014

Background: To evaluate of child or adolescent with specific learning disorder (SLD) was aimed and if there are any distinctive patterns of Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) performance, accepted as a determiner of cognitive functioning, was explored. Method: Over a-year period of data related to SLD diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR criteria was reviewed. Socio-demographic and clinical features were analyzed by using SPSS 17.0 program. Results: In a year of period, 716/25,013 had any type of SLD (2.9%). Mean age was 8.9±1.7 years with 65.4% of boys and 87.2% of under 12-year-old group. The majority of SLD subtype was "reading disorder (71.6%)". There was no difference of SLD subtypes either distribution between sexes or age groups. Neither verbal IQ nor performance IQ was significantly different amongst four subtypes of SLD as well as total IQ scores. Also any relation was not found between subtypes of SLD and sexes or age groups in the distribution of WISC-R scores terms. Also there were not any consistent discrepancy patterns (VIQ>PIQ or PIQ>VIQ) in SLD subtypes. The presence of "reading disorder" was found significantly related with attention deficit-hyperactivity (ADHD) comorbidity (X 2 =7.006, p=0.008). Conclusions and Recommendations: ADHD is one of neurodevelopmental disorders and its presence could very well affect the SLD or vice versa. Further research would make clear both the relation between ADHD and SLD. Alongside cognitive measurements by using a number of intelligence scales would be enlightening in SLD field.

American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 2014; 2(6): 90-95 Clinical and sociodemographic features of children and adolescents with specific learning disorder (SLD

Background: To evaluate of child or adolescent with specific learning disorder (SLD) was aimed and if there are any distinctive patterns of Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) performance, accepted as a determiner of cognitive functioning, was explored. Method: Over a-year period of data related to SLD diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR criteria was reviewed. Socio-demographic and clinical features were analyzed by using SPSS 17.0 program. Results: In a year of period, 716/25,013 had any type of SLD (2.9%). Mean age was 8.9±1.7 years with 65.4% of boys and 87.2% of under 12-year-old group. The majority of SLD subtype was " reading disorder (71.6%) ". There was no difference of SLD subtypes either distribution between sexes or age groups. Neither verbal IQ nor performance IQ was significantly different amongst four subtypes of SLD as well as total IQ scores. Also any relation was not found between subtypes of SLD and sexes or age groups in the distribution of WISC-R scores terms. Also there were not any consistent discrepancy patterns (VIQ>PIQ or PIQ>VIQ) in SLD subtypes. The presence of " reading disorder " was found significantly related with attention deficit-hyperactivity (ADHD) comorbidity (X 2 =7.006, p=0.008). Conclusions and Recommendations: ADHD is one of neurodevelopmental disorders and its presence could very well affect the SLD or vice versa. Further research would make clear both the relation between ADHD and SLD. Alongside cognitive measurements by using a number of intelligence scales would be enlightening in SLD field.

Role of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Learning Disabilities

Seminars in Neurology, 1991

ADHD refers to a combination of symptoms in the general areas of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. This condition becomes evident in the preschool years and affects males predominantly. The behavior is seen as being disruptive and unacceptable by parents and teachers, and the child is socially handicapped as a result. Treatment relies on behavioral techniques and medication, predominantly psychostimulants. ADHD is strongly associated with learning disabilities; the treatment of the learning disorder should be based on educational intervention, not drug therapy. Symptoms of ADHD may continue into adulthood, and recommendations for treatment of adults are being made with increasing frequency. The prognosis is best for children who do not have symptoms of a conduct disorder and who lose the symptoms of ADHD before adolescence. A superimposed conduct disorder and maintenance of the symptoms of ADHD put the patient at high risk for antisocial behavior and substance abuse in adolescence and adulthood.

Comorbidities Between Specific Learning Disorders and Psychopathology in Elementary School Children in Germany

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Children with reading and/or spelling disorders have increased rates of behavioral and emotional problems and combinations of these. Some studies also find increased rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression. However, the comorbidities of, e.g., arithmetic disorders with ADHD, anxiety disorder, and depression have been addressed only rarely. The current study explored the probability of children with specific learning disorders (SLD) in reading, spelling, and/or arithmetic to also have anxiety disorder, depression, ADHD, and/or conduct disorder. The sample consisted of 3,014 German children from grades 3 and 4 (mean age 9;9 years) who completed tests assessing reading, spelling as well as arithmetic achievement and intelligence via a web-based application. Psychopathology was assessed using questionnaires filled in by the parents. In children with a SLD we found high rates of anxiety disorder (21%), depression (28%), ADHD (28%), and conduct disorder (22%). Children with SLD in multiple learning domains had a higher risk for psychopathology and had a broader spectrum of psychopathology than children with an isolated SLD. The results highlight the importance of screening for and diagnosing psychiatric comorbidities in children with SLD.

Psychological Co-morbidity in Children with Specific Learning Disorders

Journal of family medicine and primary care

Children under 19 years of age constitute over 40% of India's population and information about their mental health needs is a national imperative. Children with specific learning disorders (SLDs) exhibit academic difficulties disproportionate to their intellectual capacities. Prevalence of SLD ranges from 2% to 10%. Dyslexia (developmental reading disorder) is the most common type, affecting 80% of all SLD. About 30% of learning disabled children have behavioral and emotional problems, which range from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (most common) to depression, anxiety, suicide etc., to substance abuse (least common). Co-occurrence of such problems with SLD further adds to the academic difficulty. In such instances, diagnosis is difficult and tricky; improvement in academics demands comprehensive holistic treatment approach. SLD remains a large public health problem because of under-recognition, inadequate treatment and therefore merits greater effort to understand the...

ADHD and the Importance of Comorbid Disorders in the Psychosocial Development of Children and Adolescents

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2021

The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common disorders in the childhood and adolescence population, but also in the reproductive period, affects and influences learning, social relations and their quality of life. There are strong neuropathological similarities between ADHD and various concomitant psychiatric conditions. ADHD frequently coexists with learning and language disabilities, sleep disorders, impulse control personality and anxiety disorders, intellectual disability, substance use disorders and mood disorders, as well as autism spectrum disorders and tic disorders. The overlapping symptoms of ADHD and other morbidities constitute challenges but also an imperative need for the experts to be able to detect and clarify so as to achieve the proper diagnosis and the relative treatment. The expression of the disease differs accordingly depending on the age group and the presence of comorbidities. In school-age, symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. In adolescence, depending on the gender, hyperactivity decreases but the problems in learning and psychopathology still remain. Therefore, it is recommended that when ADHD coexists with other psychopathologies in childhood and adolescence to first and directly treat the most weakened condition so that the child or the adolescent can change the course of their psychiatric morbidity and improve their ability to function and socialize.