Discrimination of ADHD and reading disability in adults using the D-KEFS

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is posited to be the result of a deficit in executive functions (EFs). The presence of EF deficits in adults with ADHD is not consistent, and EF deficits are not unique to ADHD, thus adding a level of complexity to differential diagnoses. The current study used three measures of EF to discriminate between college-level adults diagnosed with ADHD and reading disability (RD). The RD group performed below ADHD on all EF tasks and logistic regression analyses demonstrated poor sensitivity and adequate specificity of the EF measures to categorize the clinical groups. Results suggest that clinicians should be cognizant of the limitations of measures of EF in the differential diagnosis of ADHD.