Language is our ability to use and understand different words and sentences to communicate.  These areas are called our expressive and receptive language.  Language is our ability to explain and retell a story with a main idea and a sequence of events.  Language also has an aspect referring to social language.  Social language is following the “rules” about when and how you should talk to people; taking turns when you talk, initiating a topic and maintaining that topic, changing our message based on the listener’s knowledge, body language, and proximity.

Expressive language, story-telling, receptive language, and social language require us to plan, organize, attend, and self-regulate.

The executive functioning area of the brain controls planning, organizing, attention, and self-regulation.  Executive functioning is impaired in those with ADHD.  Let’s take a look at the language areas closer and begin to think about what YOU can do to make interactions more comfortable with a child having attentional difficulties.

Understanding

In order to understand a message you must use your memory, knowledge of word and sentence structures, and incorporate your experiences, what you know, and the context. Add in noise, figurative language, or a joke and it increases the demands. What if the story someone is sharing becomes too long? Then add different speakers in a group. It’s no wonder those with ADHD miss the details in conversation, which can be vital bits of information. Think about what that looks like…oppositional behaviour. Keep in mind we are talking about understanding of a spoken message, but the same applies to a written message (reading comprehension).

You have the power to support your child’s understanding of a message.

1. Wait until you gain your child’s full attention by using a transition marker, such as “Daxon, I have a question for you.” or use touch by touching a shoulder.
2. Repeat the important parts of instructions. Pause and check in on comprehension by having your child say what they heard. Consider giving one direction at a time.
3. Use gestures to help with organization, such as counting bullet points on your fingers.
4. Demonstrate what is to be done and walk through the steps if needed.
5. Provide visuals that support organization of material and instruction, such as a checklist and daily schedule. Consider using a gaming app for organization and task completion, such as Epic Win, Super Better, or Habitica.

Talking

In order for us to talk we must organize and plan our thoughts to retrieve words quickly and compose sentences with correct word order and grammar. Those with ADHD may end up pausing more in mid-sentence or producing rambling stories, because they have difficulty sequencing their thoughts. You might hear a change of topic in the middle of the conversation due to distractibility. Your child might interrupt you due to impulsivity. Even for those with advanced vocabularies and understanding, social language difficulties may get in the way of social success. Adults and peers may become impatience or misunderstand a message.

You have the power to support your child’s ability to communicate.

1. Offer ‘extended time’ in conversation to pull thoughts together. Give your child ample time to settle themselves and organize responses.
2. Make your home a place in which your child feels safe to express his or her thoughts. Don’t let siblings make fun if your child misinterprets information or misuses words.
3. Practice communication skills by creating opportunities for your child to engage in discussion with friends and extended family. Introduce topics for supper-time conversation, hold family meetings, and reminisce about past events. Consider what works better one-to-one versus group conversation.
4. Recap the day or retell a story for your child in sequence using words, such as first, next, then, last. Discuss what makes a story successful. Think about mentioning how the speaker must consider the listener’s perspective when choosing what and how information is shared.
5. Set aside a portion of the week to discuss and reflect on weekly social interactions. . Compliment your child on instances of successful behavior and revisit any social difficulties. Revisiting a social difficulty can include discussing what your child thinks went wrong, role-playing the situation and enacting role reversals.
6. Talk to your child about conversations that went well and why. Each person likely had a turn and shared stories in sequence, so the listener could understand and respond appropriately.
7. Say something about the topic of conversation before talking about it. This may help your child stay on topic and change topics more easily. Have your child talk more about a topic by asking questions or adding information.
8. Talk about different ways to present a message, such as being: Polite or impolite. Your child could say, “Please may I go to the party?” or, “You better let me go.” Indirect or direct. Your child could say, “That music is loud,” or, “Turn off the music.” Discuss why people might be more willing to do something if they are asked in a different way.

WRITTEN BY ANGIE REEDER, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST AND DIRECTOR WITH WILDFLOWERS