Poster #2 - ADHD and Comprehension in Shared-reading: the Moderating Effects of Verbal Engagement and E-book Discussion Prompts

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to have reading difficulty due to their deficits in attention skills (Cheung et al., 2014). Children’s verbal engagement during shared reading is suggested to increase their attention and thus improve story comprehension (Wicks et al., 2020; Woolley, 2010). With the development of literacy apps and digital books, the multimedia features of e-books, such as discussion prompts, are found to promote children’s engagement in reading and their reading outcomes (Troseth et al., 2020). However, whether the interactive e-book features are also beneficial for children with ADHD symptoms remains unclear. The current study examines whether embedding discussion prompts in e-books and children’s verbal engagement in English during parent-child shared reading moderate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and comprehension outcomes.

A secondary analysis was performed with data collected for an experiment on an interactive bilingual e-book. The current analysis included 111 pairs of Chinese children (aged 3-7) and their parents. Each pair was randomly assigned into the control or treatment groups. The children in the treatment group read the e-book with discussion prompts while the control group read without discussion prompts. Every child attended the e-book reading session twice with their parents within 2 to 3 days using their touch-screen tablets. The process was video-recorded via Zoom. Children’s ADHD was evaluated using the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-symptoms and Normal-behavior (SWAN) rating scale (Swanson et al., 2012). The story comprehension was assessed with seven researcher-developed questions after the reading sessions. Children's verbal engagement in English was measured by the number of English words they spoke during the two reading sessions.

Multiple linear regression was carried out to examine the association between ADHD symptoms and story comprehension. Table 1 showed the SWAN score negatively predicted story comprehension (B = -1.25, p < 0.01). The significant interaction between the treatment and SWAN scores (B = 0.001, p < 0.01) indicated that the treatment reduced the negative impact of ADHD symptoms on story comprehension (Figure 1a). Furthermore, the significant interaction between the number of English words children spoke and the SWAN score (B = 0.86, p < 0.01) demonstrated that English verbalization had a greater positive impact on story comprehension for children with more severe ADHD symptoms (Figure 1b).

Our results suggested that embedding discussion prompts in e-books can alleviate the negative impact of ADHD symptoms on children’s story comprehension. Prompting questions might have stimulated more on-topic parent-child interactions, thus maintaining children’s attention and improving comprehension outcomes. App designers could embed discussion prompts in e-books as an intervention targeted at children with ADHD and a facilitator for parents. Additionally, the moderation effect of children’s English verbalization revealed that active verbal engagement in English is particularly beneficial for children with more severe ADHD symptoms while comprehending the story. One potential explanation is that English verbalization sustains children’s attention by engaging them in multiple cognitive processes (Schunk, 1986). In future literacy practice, researchers and educators should encourage children with ADHD symptoms to engage more verbally in reading to maintain their attention.

Authors

• Yan Ge

• Yiwen Sun, Columbia University

• Hanyue Sha, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Dandan Yang, University of California, Irvine

• Mark Warschauer, University of California, Irvine

• Penelope Collins, University of California, Irvine