Naming speed in children with and without cognitive disengagement syndrome and associations with reading...

This study tested whether children with and without elevated cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) symptoms differ in naming speed and explored whether naming speed moderates the association between CDS and reading achievement. Based on teacher ratings, participants were children with clinically elevated CDS (n = 107) and sex- and grade-matched peers without elevated CDS (n = 104). Teachers also completed ratings of ADHD inattentive symptoms, and children were administered the Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus (RAN/RAS) Tests, the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III), and the Processing Speed Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Children with elevated CDS symptoms had slower naming speed than their peers across most RAN/RAS Tests. Specifically, compared to children without CDS, children with elevated CDS had significantly lower scores in RAN Objects, RAN Numbers, RAN Letters, RAS 2-Set, and RAS 3-Set (ds = 0.31-0.50). Effects for RAN Numbers, RAN Letters, and RAS 3-Set were robust to control of family income, ADHD medication use, processing speed, and ADHD inattentive symptom severity. RAS 3-Set scores moderated the association between CDS and WIAT-III Reading Comprehension scores such that CDS status was associated with poorer reading comprehension performance only at low (slower) and mean naming speed performance but not at high (faster) performance. This study provides new evidence linking CDS to slower naming speed performance beyond demographic characteristics, processing speed, and ADHD symptoms. Findings suggest that naming speed may be deficient in children with CDS, which may exacerbate reading difficulties. Implications for assessment and intervention as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.