Abstract
Objective
This poster will focus on findings pertaining to the relationship between bilingualism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a gap that currently exists in cultural neuropsychology. This poster will introduce the literature regarding bilingualism and the development of individuals’ executive functioning throughout their lifespan. Bilingual individuals often have enhanced executive functioning. This review will provide a foundation for the present study. Then, we will compare racial and ethnic differences in ADHD diagnosis and treatment. ADHD diagnoses tend to be higher for White children than for Hispanics raised in a non-English household. These findings suggest that bilingualism may affect the diagnosis and the expression of ADHD.
Participants and Method
This poster will consider the acquisition of executive control skills and language. Since ADHD and language develop before adolescence, this poster will focus on individuals between the ages of 3 and 12. This will allow us to better understand how language acquisition and the factors that surround language affect the expression of ADHD.
Results
The poster will present results from the literature review to better understand the results of bilingualism on ADHD. Bilinguals tend to outperform monolinguals in tasks related to reasoning and problem solving. However, bilinguals tend to struggle in tasks related to vocabulary retrieval. This is key because individuals with ADHD tend to perform worse on tasks related to executive functioning. The poster will display different methods used in past research in order to expand future implications.
Conclusions
ADHD appears to interrupt some skills that bilingual individuals possess. This interference may affect ADHD symptom expression and performance on neuropsychological testing. This may lead to misdiagnoses and a resulting lag in the provision of effective treatments for bilingual children. Thus, this poster will propose alternatives and implications for practice.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Relationship between Aspirin Use and Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Risk and Survival
