Interventions for English Language Learners At-Risk for ADHD

Primary outcomes

1. Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test 4th Edition (EOWPVT-4) Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   The EOWPVT-4 (Martin & Brownell, 2011) consists of 190 items used to assess children's ability to verbally label illustrations of objects, actions, or concepts. Basal, based on child age, and ceiling (i.e., six consecutive incorrect responses) rules are used. Internal consistency (alpha) for ages 3-10 years ranges from .95 to .97, and split-half reliability, corrected for full length of the test, ranges from .96 to .98.

2. Word Classes 1 Subtest Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4th Edition (CELF-4), Word Classes 1 Subtest. The Word Classes I subtest of the CELF-4 includes 21 (ages 5 to 7 years) items used to assess children's ability to recognize and identify words that share a semantic relationship. The examiner says three or four words (e.g., porcupine, quills, ball) and the child correctly responds by saying how two of the words are related (i.e., Porcupines have quills.). All children begin at the first item, and a ceiling is established after seven consecutive incorrect responses. Internal consistency (alpha) for ages 5-11 years ranges from.85 to .92.

3. Sentence Structure Subtest Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4th Edition (CELF-4), Sentence Structure subtest. The CELF-4 Sentence Structure subtest consists of 26 items designed to assess the children's ability to comprehend spoken sentences of increasing length and syntactic complexity. Children listen to a sentence spoken by the examiner and select one picture out of four that illustrates the referential meaning of the sentence. All children begin at the first item and a ceiling is established after five consecutive incorrect responses. Internal consistency (alpha) for ages 5:0 - 8:11 years of age ranges from .64 to .76, and test-retest reliability for ages 6 - 7:11 years ranges from .67 to .74.

4. Syntax Construction Subtest Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL), Syntax Construction subtest. The Syntax Structure subtest of the CASL consists of 56 items used to assess the children's ability to formulate and express sentences using a variety of morphosyntactic rules. While showing the child a picture in the stimulus manual, the examiner either reads one to three sentences with a phrase missing from the final sentence (e.g., "This is a small fish. This is a ___." [big fish]) or gives the child a directive to say something related to the picture (e.g., "The man found the hat. Where was it?" [on the table]). Basal, based on child age, and ceiling (i.e., five consecutive incorrect responses) rules are used. Internal consistency (alpha) for ages 5-10 years ranges from .82 to .90, and test-retest reliability for ages 5-7 years is .79 and for ages 8-11 years is .74.

5. Concepts and Following Directions Subtest Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4th Edition (CELF-4), Concepts and Following Directions subtest. The Concepts and Following Directions subtest of the CELF-4 consists of 54 items used to assess children's abilities to interpret and follow directions of increasing length and complexity (e.g., names, characteristics, and order of mention) using logical operations (e.g., before/after, tallest, etc.). Basal, based on child age, and ceiling (i.e., seven consecutive incorrect responses) rules are used. Internal consistency (alpha) ranges from .73 to .92, and test-retest reliability ranges from .67 to .88.

6. Oral Comprehension Subtest Score

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, 3rd Edition (WJ-III), Oral Comprehension subtest. The Oral Comprehension subtest of the WJ-III consists of 34 items that assess children's ability to comprehend short, audio-recorded or orally presented passages to complete an oral close task. The child hears a sentence followed by two beeps (for audio-recorded presentation) at which time the child provides a single word to finish the sentence. Basal, based on child grade, and ceiling (i.e., six consecutive items are responded to incorrectly) rules are used. Median internal consistency for children ages 5-19 years is .80, and one-year, test-retest reliability for children 4-7 years of age is .82.

7. Frequency counts of off-task behavior

   Time frame: Post-treatment (i.e., after completion of the 18-week treatment phase)

   This outcome measure is collected via systematic direct observations of student classroom behavior by trained observers masked to treatment condition. The score is a frequency count of off-task behaviors during 30-minute observation periods. Because this is a count variable, the minimum value is zero and there is no maximum value. Higher scores indicate worse outcomes.