Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Impacts of cognitive flexibility on central word identification: evidence from poor comprehenders’ discourse comprehension of first graders with ADHD

  • Published:
Annals of Dyslexia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility (CF) is an executive function component related to the ability to flexibly shift amongst multiple incompatible perspectives or descriptions of an object task. However, whether CF enhances the narrative discourse comprehension of students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during surface semantic meaning identification remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the impacts of CF on central word (CW) identification amongst primary school students with ADHD and reading comprehension difficulties (i.e. scores in the ≤ 25th percentile of discourse comprehension but with adequate decoding skills and average decoding performance score within one standard deviation). In addition, the association of CF with CW identification performance, when the CW was located in either the first or second half of sentences, was tested with and without the interference of playing music. This study recruited 104 low-CF and 103 high-CF first grade students with ADHD and reading difficulties. Participants received measures of nonverbal intelligence, working memory, Chinese receptive vocabulary, Chinese word reading, CF and a music preference questionnaire. Additionally, participants completed the entire CW identification experiment (about 7 min) individually in a silent classroom located within the school campus. After controlling nonverbal intelligence, working memory, music preference, Chinese receptive vocabulary and Chinese word reading, the results showed that high-CF students had similar poetry discourse comprehension performance with low-CF students when the CWs were at the second half of a sentence. Moreover, high-CF students showed significantly better performance than low-CF students when the CWs were at the first half of the poetry sentences in both conditions with and without music, especially if the poetry sentence structure was more complicated than the typical ‘subject-verb-object’ sequence. All students with ADHD performed significantly worse in poetry discourse comprehension with music interference than without it. The results highlight the importance of CF in poetry discourse comprehension tasks, particularly when a poetry sentence uses a non-typical structure format. The possible effects of CF on poetry discourse comprehension are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All data is available when contacting the corresponding author.

References

  • Applegate, M. D., Applegate, A. J., & Modla, V. B. (2009). “She’s my best reader; she just can’t comprehend”: Studying the relationship between fluency and comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), 512–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Authors. (2008). Dialogic reading and morphology training in Chinese children: Effects on language and literacy. Developmental Psychology, 44(1), 233–244.

  • Bai, Y. T. (2013). Exploratory study on receptive content words assessment and reference standards for 3–5 years old children with special needs in Shanghai. (Doctor Dissertation of East China Normal University).

  • Butterfuss, R., & Kendeou, P. (2018). The role of executive functions in reading comprehension. Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), 801–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, K. B., Coppage, E. A., Lane, A. B., Singleton, T., Marshall, T. R., & Bentivegna, C. (2017). Cognitive flexibility deficits in children with specific reading comprehension difficulties. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 50, 33–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chow, B. W. Y., McBride-Chang, C., Cheung, H., & Chow, C. S. L. (2008). Dialogic reading and morphology training in Chinese children: effects on language and literacy. Developmental Psychology, 44(1), 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong, Y., Chow, B. W. Y., Wu, S. X. Y., Zhou, J. D., Zhao, Y. M. (2021). Enhancing poor readers’ reading comprehension ability through word semantic knowledge training. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 37(4), 348–364.

  • Dong, Y., Chow, B. W. Y., Mo, J., Zheng, H. Y. (2022). Dialogic reading with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) kindergarteners: Does reading with parents or siblings enhance their language development?. Developmental Psychology.Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001466

  • Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2009). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. Journal of Education, 189(1–2), 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gertner, Y., Fisher, C., & Eisengart, J. (2006). Learning words and rules: Abstract knowledge of word order in early sentence comprehension. Psychological Science, 17(8), 684–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, S. R. (2012). Adolescent literacy: Learning and understanding content. The Future of Children, 89–116.

  • Guajardo, N. R., & Cartwright, K. B. (2016). The contribution of theory of mind, counterfactual reasoning, and executive function to pre-readers’ language comprehension and later reading awareness and comprehension in elementary school. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 144, 27–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Y. P. (2011). A study on the effect of cognitive style and the pattern-typing of reading-material on digit working memory span. (Master dissertation of Xibei University).

  • Hevner, K. (1936). Experimental studies of the elements of expression in music. The American Journal of Psychology, 48(2), 246–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hung, C. O. Y., & Loh, E. K. Y. (2021). Examining the contribution of cognitive flexibility to metalinguistic skills and reading comprehension. Educational Psychology, 41(6), 712–729.

  • Johann, V., Könen, T., & Karbach, J. (2020). The unique contribution of working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and intelligence to reading comprehension and reading speed. Child Neuropsychology, 26(3), 324–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamil, M. L., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C. C., Salinger, T., & Torgesen, J. (2008). Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices. IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2008–4027. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

  • Kercood, S., Lineweaver, T. T., Frank, C. C., & Fromm, E. D. (2017). Cognitive flexibility and its relationship to academic achievement and career choice of college students with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30(4), 329–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kieffer, M. J., Vukovic, R. K., & Berry, D. (2013). Roles of attention shifting and inhibitory control in fourth-grade reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 48(4), 333–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, M., Georgiou, G., Kirby, J. R., Frijters, J. C., Zhao, W., & Wang, T. (2022). Reading fluency in Chinese children with reading disabilities and/or ADHD: A key role for morphology. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 00222194221131569.

  • Locascio, G., Mahone, E. M., Eason, S. H., & Cutting, L. E. (2010). Executive dysfunction among children with reading comprehension deficits. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(5), 441–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, A. N., & McDade, H. L. (2011). Preschoolers’ incidental learning of novel words during storybook reading. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 32(4), 256–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monette, S., Bigras, M., & Guay, M. C. (2011). The role of the executive functions in school achievement at the end of Grade 1. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109(2), 158–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, B. A. (2013). Propensity for experiencing flow: The roles of cognitive flexibility and mindfulness. The Humanistic Psychologist, 41(4), 319–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., Clarke, P., & Snowling, M. J. (2002). General cognitive ability in children with reading comprehension difficulties. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(4), 549–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niu, W., Cheng, L., Xu, W., Zhang, Q., & Zhang, X. (2021). Improving resilience of a child with ADHD: A context specific intervention program through dialogic and guided reading. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 1–18.

  • Peng, D. H., Liao, Y., & Su, H. (2017). Research on the developmental feature and individual differences of 5 to 6 years old children’s cognitive flexibility. Xueqian Jiaoyu Yanjiu, 268(4), 37–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perfetti, C. A., & Hart, L. (2001). The lexical basis of comprehension skill. On the Consequences of Meaning Selection: Perspectives on Resolving Lexical Ambiguity., 67–86.

  • Raven, J. C., Court, J. H., & Raven, J. (1995). Raven’s colored progressive matrices. Oxford Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rommelse, N. N., Altink, M. E., De Sonneville, L. M., Buschgens, C. J., Buitelaar, J., Oosterlaan, J., & Sergeant, J. A. (2007). Are motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility dead ends in ADHD? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(6), 957–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roshani, F., Piri, R., Malek, A., Michel, T. M., & Vafaee, M. S. (2020). Comparison of cognitive flexibility, appropriate risk-taking and reaction time in individuals with and without adult ADHD. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuels, S. J. (2006). Reading fluency: Its past, present, and future, pp. xvii, 302. Fluency Instruction: Research-Based Best Practices (Eds: TV Rasinski, CLZ Blachowicz & K. Lems). The Guilford Press Inc, New York.

  • Seinfeld, S., Bergstrom, I., Pomes, A., Arroyo-Palacios, J., Vico, F., Slater, M., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2016). Influence of music on anxiety induced by fear of heights in virtual reality. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sesma, H. W., Mahone, E. M., Levine, T., Eason, S. H., & Cutting, L. E. (2009). The contribution of executive skills to reading comprehension. Child Neuropsychology, 15(3), 232–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. (2002). Reading for understanding toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. RAND Corporation.

  • Solis, M., Reutebuch, C. K., Falcomata, T., Steinle, P. K., Miller, V. L., & Vaughn, S. (2021). Vocabulary and main idea reading intervention using text choice to improve content knowledge and reading comprehension of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Behavior Modification, 45(1), 66–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M., Richmond, M. C., & Cutting, L. E. (2020). Considering the role of executive function in reading comprehension: A structural equation modeling approach. Scientific Studies of Reading, 24(3), 179–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, P., & Shalev, L. (2013). The role of sustained attention and display medium in reading comprehension among adolescents with ADHD and without it. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(1), 431–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, E. A., Vaughn, S., House, L., & Stillman-Spisak, S. (2020). The effects of a paraphrasing and text structure intervention on the main idea generation and reading comprehension of students with reading disabilities in grades 4 and 5. Scientific Studies of Reading, 24(5), 365–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taboada Barber, A., Cartwright, K. B., Stapleton, L. M., Lutz Klauda, S., Archer, C. J., & Smith, P. (2020). Direct and indirect effects of executive functions, Reading engagement, and higher order strategic processes in the reading comprehension of dual language learners and English Monolinguals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101848.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thaler, V., Ebner, E. M., Wimmer, H., & Landerl, K. (2004). Training reading fluency in dysfluent readers with high reading accuracy: Word specific effects but low transfer to untrained words. Annals of Dyslexia, 54(1), 89–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torppa, M., Tolvanen, A., Poikkeus, A. M., Eklund, K., Lerkkanen, M. K., Leskinen, E., & Lyytinen, H. (2007). Reading development subtypes and their early characteristics. Annals of Dyslexia, 57(1), 3–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trabasso, T., & Sperry, L. L. (1985). Causal relatedness and importance of story events. Journal of Memory and Language, 24(5), 595–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, S., Klingner, J. K., Swanson, E. A., Boardman, A. G., Roberts, G., Mohammed, S. S., & Stillman-Spisak, S. J. (2011). Efficacy of collaborative strategic reading with middle school students. American Educational Research Journal, 48(4), 938–964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, T. (2005). The preliminary study on music interest of middle school students. (Master Dissertation, Xibei Normal University).

  • Weyerts, H., Penke, M., Münte, T. F., Heinze, H. J., & Clahsen, H. (2002). Word order in sentence processing: An experimental study of verb placement in German. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 31(3), 211–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Y. Y. (2013). A correlational study on Chinese children’s phonological awareness, early reading ability and pinyin level. (Master dissertation of Shandong University).

  • Yeari, M., & Lev, N. (2021). Processing and memory of central and peripheral ideas in reading comprehension by poor comprehenders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 25(3), 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou, Z., Zhao, W., & Li, M. (2022). The deficit profile of executive function in Chinese children with different types of reading difficulties. Reading and Writing, 35(3), 565–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the students for their participation in this study.

Funding

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Hainan Jiaoyu Planning Office, China (project no. QJY20221002).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English, Hainan University, Haikou, China

    Yang Dong

  2. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Jianhong Mo

  3. Department of English, Research Center for Overseas Studies and Media Reports on Hainan, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China

    Xuecong Miao

  4. Guangzhou Huashang College, Guangzhou, China

    Hao-Yuan Zheng & Chongbo Yuan

  5. Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Chongbo Yuan

  6. The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Pinyi Xin

Authors
  1. Yang Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jianhong Mo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xuecong Miao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hao-Yuan Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chongbo Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Pinyi Xin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Jianhong Mo, Xuecong Miao and Hao-Yuan Zheng had the same contribution to this paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Dong.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This project received approval from the ethics committee of Guangzhou University. Consent forms were collected from both participants and their parents.

Consent for publication

All authors agreed to publish this paper without any conflict.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

Please see Table

Table 5 Example items used in the current study
Full size table

5.

Please see Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Example of item presentation

Full size image

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dong, Y., Mo, J., Miao, X. et al. Impacts of cognitive flexibility on central word identification: evidence from poor comprehenders’ discourse comprehension of first graders with ADHD. Ann. of Dyslexia 73, 314–335 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-023-00280-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-023-00280-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation