Based on phenomenology, traditional methods of diagnoses of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder-combined type (ADHD/C) and reading disorder (RD) are neither precise, nor do they provide explicit information relevant to intervention. Consequently, current researchers have called for diagnostic techniques based on etiological rather than traditional symptom-based markers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not WJ III cognitive profiles of individual students provided meaningful diagnostic evidence of ADHD/C and/or RD congruent with prominent theories and group scores from quantitative studies. Six holistic student cases were examined. Two were prequalified with ADHD/C, two with RD, and two with ADHD/C+RD using traditional symptom-based diagnosis. Data were drawn from archived psychoeducational evaluation case files including background information, psychosocial evaluations, and WJ III cognitive profiles. Contextual mediators such as testing room conditions, behavioral observations, and developmental histories were examined that might influence the interpretation of cognitive profiles within the school setting.Among the four students prequalified with RD, three students displayed the requisite cognitive profile of weaknesses on clusters of Phonemic Awareness-3 and/or Cognitive Fluency. A review of distinctive contexts in the fourth student's case as well as the absence of the expected RD cognitive profile supported the determination that his reading problems were secondary to ADHD/C. These findings produced theoretical as well as literal replications of the double-deficit theory of RD. Results were less clear among the four students prequalified with ADHD/C due to varying performances on tests of Broad Attention and Executive Processes--cognitive factors documented by the behavioral inhibition theory of ADHD/C. As expected, students prequalified with ADHD/C+RD displayed a wider range of deficits, presumably due to the additive effect of having two disorders. The mediating influence of idiosyncratic contexts underscored the importance of professional judgment in cognitive profile interpretation.Although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between academic performance deficits associated with ADHD/C and skills deficits associated with RD, it was shown that cognitive profiles in concert with a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation can, in some cases, provide etiological evidence for differential diagnosis and a guide for intervention. More practice-based research within ecologically valid environments is recommended. / Department of Educational Psychology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180691 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Shasky, Lee |
| Contributors | Gridley, Betty E. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | xii, 231 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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