[Syntactic and textual complexity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. / Complejidad sintactica y textual en ninos con trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: . In this work we analyse the syntax used by children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when writing texts with a narrative and argumentative superstructure. The basic data analysed are the ratio of syntactic complexity and the relative distribution of verb tenses, assuming that in fusional languages like Spanish the TAM system (tense, aspect, mode) is the direct linguistic correlate of the executive functions related with the management of temporality. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Children between 8 and 13 years of age were asked to write narrative and argumentative texts; data were obtained in clinical contexts. The use of complex syntactic structures and verb conjugation were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The children with ADHD displayed lower values in terms of levels of syntactic complexity and used fewer subordinate clauses than the children in the control group in both types of texts. As far as verb tenses are concerned, they used a higher proportion of prototypical tenses, that is to say, the present simple in argumentation and the imperfect indicative in narrative texts.

Complejidad sintáctica y textual en niños con trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad / Syntactic and textual complexity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Introducción y objetivos. En este trabajo se analiza la sintaxis utilizada por niños con diagnóstico de trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad (TDAH) en la redacción de textos de superestructura narrativa y argumentativa. Los datos básicos analizados son la ratio de complejidad sintáctica y la distribución relativa de los tiempos verbales, asumiendo que en las lenguas fusionantes como el español el sistema TAM (tiempo, aspecto, modo) es el correlato lingüístico directo de las funciones ejecutivas relacionadas con la gestión de la temporalidad. Sujetos y métodos. Se solicitó a niños de entre 8 y 13 años la elaboración de textos narrativos y argumentativos escritos; los datos se obtuvieron en contextos clínicos. Se analizó cualitativa y cuantitativamente la utilización de estructuras sintácticas complejas y de la conjugación verbal. Resultados y conclusiones. Los niños con TDAH desarrollan valores menores en los niveles de complejidad sintáctica y utilizan menos subordinadas que los niños del grupo control en ambos tipos de texto; por lo que se refiere a los tiempos verbales, emplean en mayor proporción los tiempos prototípicos, es decir, presente de indicativo en la argumentación e imperfecto de indicativo en la narración (AU)

Introduction and aims. In this work we analyse the syntax used by children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when writing texts with a narrative and argumentative superstructure. The basic data analysed are the ratio of syntactic complexity and the relative distribution of verb tenses, assuming that in fusional languages like Spanish the TAM system (tense, aspect, mode) is the direct linguistic correlate of the executive functions related with the management of temporality. Subjects and methods. Children between 8 and 13 years of age were asked to write narrative and argumentative texts; data were obtained in clinical contexts. The use of complex syntactic structures and verb conjugation were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results and conclusions. The children with ADHD displayed lower values in terms of levels of syntactic complexity and used fewer subordinate clauses than the children in the control group in both types of texts. As far as verb tenses are concerned, they used a higher proportion of prototypical tenses, that is to say, the present simple in argumentation and the imperfect indicative in narrative texts (AU)