Oral narratives and Theory of mind in children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Grant number: 14/19634-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: October 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Jacy Perissinoto
• Grantee: Renata Santos Pedroso Graça
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has a high prevalence in the pediatric population and affects development aspects. There are neuropsychomotor agitation and attention deficit observed that impact interpersonal relationships, academic performance, oral and written language, theory of mind, organization, and planning of narrative macrostructure. These features allow the hypothesis that oral narratives of children with ADHD are different from those of typical children, presenting narratives with a less complex level of intentionality and fewer words per sentence. Objective: To characterize the oral narrative and the ability to use the theory of mind in children and adolescents with ADHD. Method: Analysis of 13 individuals with a multidisciplinary diagnosis of ADHD (12 boys), aged between 6 and 13 years, normal hearing, and enrolled in regular school period. Will be analyzed narratives previously classified as intentional from 15 sequences (Baron Cohen et al, 1986; Perissinoto, 2003). It is considered intentional when the narrator used the verbs denoting feeling or desire, not linguistic expressions, mental states or speaks of the character narrated indirect speech. In this study, the oral narratives from sequences of images are classified into four categories of intentionality (ARTONI, 2001). Will be of interest to analyze and statistically correlate the characteristics of the narratives and the variables age, sex, type of ADHD, educational and intellectual level of individuals.