Speech Therapy Treatments For ADHD

Are you concerned your child has trouble paying attention to you when you’re talking?

Has their school told you they’re easily distracted?

Is your child known for being overactive in school or at home?

Are they known for being impulsive?

Your child may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder and neurodivergent condition.

There are multiple different types of ADHD that all have different symptoms.

Statistics on ADHD show that ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

The symptoms of this disorder usually begin in childhood and can continue until adulthood.

They can impact your child in school, and life.

ADHD can cause speech issues.

For instance, your child may develop stuttering linked with their ADHD.

In that case, they may benefit from pediatric speech therapy to help reduce their stutter.

So, what is ADHD, and how can our speech therapists in DC help?

That’s the topic we’ll be covering today to give you all the info you need.

Let’s keep reading to find out.

What Is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder.

It makes it hard for you to pay attention.

There are many types of neurodevelopmental disorders.

This includes autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, and others.

There are also many statistics on ADHD

They show that ADHD occurs in about 6 million children between the ages of 3 and 17 in the US alone.

There are many symptoms of ADHD, and children with ADHD differ in the symptoms they display.

Some people with ADHD have trouble focusing or controlling their behavior.

A person with ADHD may have trouble in school and making friends.

ADHD can also affect speech and language development.

Your child with ADHD may have trouble reaching their speech developmental milestones.

This is one of the lesser known, but still important facts about ADHD.

Kids with ADHD may also have difficulty learning to read.

A speech-language pathologist, or speech therapist, can help.

It’s interesting to note that ADHD is not considered a learning disability.

However, it can cause issues with learning.

So, while there is some overlap with learning disability speech therapy and ADHD, they’re not exactly the same.

RELATED: Frequently Asked Questions About ADHD

What Are The Symptoms Of ADHD?

There are 3 different types of ADHD, which include:

• Inattentive presentation ADHD
• Hyperactive-impulsive ADHD
• Combined ADHD

In the inattentive type, you may have a difficult time organizing tasks, and paying attention to details.

Inattentive could be thought of as “difficulty with paying attention.”

If your child has the hyperactive-impulsive type of ADHD, they tend to have a lot of energy and talk a lot.

With the combined type, your child will have a mix of the above two types of ADHD.

A child with combined ADHD may have trouble concentrating or appear not to pay attention.

Their mind may wander and they might start thinking about other things that aren’t what they should be focusing on.

They might struggle to stay on track with minor tasks and bounce from one activity to another.

They may also start a new activity without finishing the first one.

Or, they may try to multitask.

This can cause something called ADHD task paralysis, where a child has difficulty with starting or completing a task.

A child with ADHD might also have trouble with memory

They may struggle with retaining new information.

They may appear restless, fidgety, or hyperactive when trying to learn new information.

Impatience and unwillingness to wait their turn when playing a game may also occur.

On the other hand, they may outperform others on other tasks.

Additional symptoms may include:

• Daydreaming
• Losing things frequently
• Other mental health struggles

ADHD also involves symptoms that may impact your child’s speech and language.

How Can ADHD Affect Speech And Language Development?

There are a number of ways that ADHD can affect speech and language development.

These are some lesser known symptoms that more people should know about.

One possible connection is that ADHD may cause issue with social skills needed for play.

This play is essential to your child’s development.

This disruption to your child’s development may cause speech and language issues.

1. Social Communication Skills

Communicating with others is an essential skill of life.

Children with ADHD might struggle with social norms.

This can include knowing when to pause, observe, listen, and make a plan with other people.

If your child has trouble paying attention, these social processes may move too quickly for them and confuse them.

ADHD can be a potential cause of a social communication disorder.

With this disorder, you have trouble communicating using verbal and non-verbal communication.

If your child has these issues, they may benefit from speech therapy.

RELATED: Speech Therapy for Social Communication Disorder

2. Literacy Skills

Language learning follows a set of steps from birth to 4 years old, and beyond.

Literary skills start building from in the womb when you read to your child.

If your child has literacy issues, they may have trouble following along with you as you read.

They may also have difficulty with learning to write.

Writing is often affected because it’s a complex process that requires several skills to work together at the same time

An estimated 25-40% of children with ADHD also have dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty associated with reading and writing.

Literacy issues could be an early sign for a speech or language disorder.

If you notice these signs, it’s a good idea to seek early intervention speech therapy.

3. Speech Sound Skills

Some children with ADHD have speech challenges, in particular related to being able to articulate speech sounds.

For this reason, children with ADHD may benefit from games that promote language and articulation.

When a child makes errors on specific sounds or groups of sounds, this is often classified as a speech sound disorder.

Speech sound disorders include childhood apraxia of speech and phonological disorders.

Because children with ADHD may have difficulty with self monitoring, they may not notice and correct these errors as readily.

RELATED: Speech Therapy for Speech Sound Disorders

4. Executive Function

Executive function is one of the main areas of language that is impacted in children with ADHD.

Executive function is the ability to translate something from an abstract thought process to an action.

Setting goals, staying on track, and finishing the goal all rely on executive function.

Executive function also helps us stay calm when frustrated, change plans, and manage time.

How Can A Speech Therapist For ADHD Help?

There are many ways that a speech therapist can help with your child’s ADHD.

If your child is struggling with social communication due to ADHD, a speech language evaluation can assess your child’s social language skills.

It may help with making inferences and problem solving.

If your child has problems with literacy, a speech therapist can evaluate your child’s literacy skills.

This can help you understand exactly where the breakdowns are occurring.

In the case of speech sound difficulties due to ADHD, a speech therapist can teach the correct pronunciation of sounds.

And, when ADHD is impairing your child’s executive function, a speech language evaluation can help pinpoint specific areas of executive function.

Each child with ADHD has different needs, which might include support for other learning disabilities or support around different social skills.

An experienced speech therapist can work with your child on speech, language, and social problems.

Book Your Appointment With District Speech Today

If you’d like to learn more about ADHD and the speech and language problems that are associated with it, we can help.

Our team of therapists are experienced in working with children with ADHD.

We can help your child learn how to plan and organize to get tasks done.

We can also teach them to take turns and pay attention when talking to others.

Also, we can work with your child’s teacher to find ways to help them in school.

Whatever your child needs, District Speech is here for you as a source of knowledge and support.

Book your appointment with District Speech today.