Background: The neurodevelopmental problem known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which affects both children and adults, may be related to stuttering, according to research. Some people refer to stuttering as stammering or childhood-onset fluency disorder, although it is also a possible symptom of ADHD.
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of stuttering in children with ADHD to better understand the nature of stuttering and to improve the line of management in those patients.
Patients and methods: Cross-sectional observational study that included 100 patients with ADHD, 85 of them falls into ADHD without stuttering category. Conversely, 15 of them are classified as ADHD with stuttering.
Results: For the category of average scores on Conner's scale, group I exhibited higher percentages in hyperactivity (60.0%), impulsivity (66.7%), and inattention (60.0%) compared to group II with percentages of 32.9%, 48.2%, and 23.5%. The majority of the sample (40%) fell in the mild range. One third (33.3%) were very mild. Over a quarter (26.7%) scored in the moderate severity range on thestuttering severity instrument-3 SSI3.
Conclusion: There was a higher proportion of males in the stuttering group compared to the non-stuttering group, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. The stuttering group had higher percentages of hyperactivity and inattention on the Conner's scale, with a significant association observed. The severity of stuttering varied, with most participants falling in the mild range. The study did not find a significant difference in IQ scores between the two groups.