Investigating the link between cognitive skills and learning in non-comorbid samples of ADHD and SLI

The aim of this study was to investigate how two cognitive skills-working memory and IQ-are linked to learning in students with ADHD or SLI. Although there has been much research examining ADHD and its co-morbidity with language impairment, little research has been conducted on their learning profiles when these two conditions occur independently. The data confirmed that those with ADHD performed better in some tasks of verbal abilities (learning outcomes), compared to those with SLI. In contrast, children with SLI had relative strengths in some nonverbal tasks (WM and IQ) compared to those with ADHD. However when looking at academic performance, there were domain-specific links between cognitive abilities and learning outcomes: verbal skills predict verbal-based academic tests and visuo-spatial skills predict visuo-spatial-based academic tests, in both ADHD and SLI groups. This finding can have important implications for how intervention is tailored in the classroom, as domain-specific support could yield important gains in learning.