Academic Competence, Organizational Skills, and Treatment Response Among Bilingual and Monolingual Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Bilingualism has been associated with executive functioning (EF) advantages while EF is commonly impaired in ADHD. The present study tested applied EF skills (organizational skills and academic competence) in bilingual and monolingual children who exhibit ADHD symptoms pre- and posttreatment. A total of 159 children (M-age = 8.32) and their parents participated in multicomponent intervention targeting ADHD impairment in home and school settings. Parents and teachers completed EF and impairment rating scales and teachers completed academic competency scales. Linear mixed effects models were used to compare bilingual and monolingual groups while controlling for income and clustering effects by school. At pretreatment, the monolingual group scored higher on academic engagement, reading, and study skills than their bilingual counterparts; however, these differences diminished when income was controlled. No between-group differences were found on organizational skills pretreatment. While reductions in impairment were found for both groups following treatment, some evidence showed greater reduction in impairment for bilingual children compared to monolingual. Our findings demonstrate that bilingualism per se does not appear to hinder applied EF skills (organizational skills and academic competence) or response to treatment among children with ADHD. Instead, socioeconomic status may play an important role in the bilingualism-EF link in applied settings. Future studies are warranted to explore interventions delivered in multiple languages for children with ADHD with increased attention on environmental resources for these children.