Reading Comprehension Ability among College Students with ADHD

College students with ADHD are an understudied population. Reading comprehension difficulties are common among those with ADHD. Research is limited addressing reading comprehension abilities among college students with ADHD. This study compares college students with ADHD to a national sample of college students to determine differences between groups on variables associated with reading comprehension. Further, the study addresses reading comprehension ability among college students with ADHD to determine if components of the simple view of reading (SVR) mediate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and reading comprehension. Understanding how college students with ADHD compare to a national sample of college students without ADHD may provide information useful in determining the focus of interventions and support for college students with ADHD. Objective: This study examines four questions. Do college students with ADHD perform below average compared to national college norms on measures of silent reading fluency, language comprehension, and reading comprehension? Do college students with ADHD perform below average compared to national college norms on measures of working memory? Is the relationship between working memory and reading comprehension mediated by silent reading fluency and language comprehension? Is the relationship between attention and reading comprehension partially mediated by silent reading fluency and language comprehension? Methods: A total of 370 college students diagnosed with ADHD completed measures of working memory, attention, language comprehension, reading fluency and reading comprehension. The sample consisted of 14 % freshman, 18 % sophomores, 24 % juniors, 24 % seniors, and 19 % graduate students. The self-identified gender composition was 46 % female and 54 % male. The self-identified ethnic composition is 65 % Caucasian, 18 % Hispanic, 10 % African American, 2 % Asian, and 5 % identified as ‘other’. Researches diagnosed 52 % of the sample as ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive Type) and 47 % ADHD-C (Combined Hyperactive and Inattentive Type). Results: The analysis found that college students with ADHD perform as well or better on all measures than their non-ADHD peers from a national sample. The mediation models that included working memory were significant, the mediation models including inattention were not significant. Conclusion: College student with ADHD may be a unique population in that they experience reduced reading comprehension difficulties as compared to their ADHD peers who do not attend post-secondary education. The mediating models suggest that improvement in working memory does not contribute to meaningful gains in reading comprehension and intervention design may be more successful if directed toward component reading skills and environmental cues that can assist with reducing the effects of ADHD symptoms on reading behavior at a university level.