The neurocognitive development of preschoolers at risk for dyslexia and ADHD

 Up until now, research on the cognitive precursors of dyslexia has merely focused on children with a family or cognitive risk for dyslexia. However, a substantially large group of these children also have a behavioral risk for ADHD. To date, far too little studies paid attention to this double risk group, as most dyslexia studies excluded children with an additional risk for ADHD. This doctoral project firstly aims to close the gap by investigating the neurocognitive profile of preschoolers with a double risk for dyslexia and ADHD, compared to preschoolers with a single risk for dyslexia or ADHD (3rd kindergarten). The second goal is to follow these children for three consecutive years to assess the development of different cognitive factors (i.e., phonological skills, executive functioning, processing speed and academic functioning). As a last objective, groups will be retrospectively analyzed based on possible clinical diagnosis (2nd grade). This last objective does not only allow us to attribute specific cognitive impairments and strengths to a specific disorder, but also permits us to unravel risk and protective factors for each profile. Furthermore, this study will result in deeper knowledge about the cognitive development of preschoolers only at risk for dyslexia OR ADHD versus those at risk for dyslexia AND ADHD