[Syntactic and textual complexity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]

. In this work we analyse the syntax used by children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when writing texts with a narrative and argumentative superstructure. The basic data analysed are the ratio of syntactic complexity and the relative distribution of verb tenses, assuming that in fusional languages like Spanish the TAM system (tense, aspect, mode) is the direct linguistic correlate of the executive functions related with the management of temporality.

Children between 8 and 13 years of age were asked to write narrative and argumentative texts; data were obtained in clinical contexts. The use of complex syntactic structures and verb conjugation were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively.

The children with ADHD displayed lower values in terms of levels of syntactic complexity and used fewer subordinate clauses than the children in the control group in both types of texts. As far as verb tenses are concerned, they used a higher proportion of prototypical tenses, that is to say, the present simple in argumentation and the imperfect indicative in narrative texts.