PURPOSE: To characterize the performance of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia in rapid automatized naming and to compare it to the performance of children whose reading ability is considered to be in accordance to age and schooling. METHODS: A number of 30 students aged 8 to 12 years old attending 2nd to 4th grades in a public school participated in this study, divided into three groups, one formed by students with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, another one formed by students with dyslexia, and the other formed by students with good academic performance. RESULTS: The results revealed statistically significant differences, evidencing superior performance of the control group when compared to both the group of students with attention deficit and hyperactivity and the group with dyslexia in the subtests of colors, digit span, letters and objects. The results also revealed superior performance of the group of students with attention deficit compared to the group with dyslexia in rapid automatized naming. CONCLUSION: Good readers showed better performance when compared to both students with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia, showing that this ability can be a prerequisite to reading development.
Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity; Dyslexia; Underachievement; Reading
