Thought disorder in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Objective: This study compared thought disorder and associated cognitive va riables in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophreni a. Method: Speech samples of 115 ADHD, 88 schizophrenic, and 190 normal chi ldren, aged 8 to 15 years, were coded for thought disorder. A structured ps ychiatric interview, the WISC-R, the Continuous Performance Test, and the S pan of Apprehension task were administered to each child. Results: The ADHD and schizophrenic groups had thought disorder compared with the normal chi ldren. However, the subjects with ADHD had a narrower range of less severe thought disorder than did the schizophrenic subjects. The younger children with ADHD and schizophrenia had significantly more thought disorder than di d the older children with these diagnoses. IQ, attention, and working memor y were associated with thought disorder in the ADHD but not the schizophren ic group. Conclusions: Thought disorder in childhood is not specific to sch izophrenia and reflects impaired development of children's communication sk ills.