Paper 2026-49

ЕЗИКОВО-МЕДИИРАНО РАЗВИТИЙНО НАТОВАРВАНЕ ПРИ ХАДВ: DLQ-25 КАТО ДИГИТАЛНО СВЪРЗВАЩО ЗВЕНО МЕЖДУ DSM-5-TR И МКФ-CY

Албена Игнатова
Communication Clinique, София

LANGUAGE-MEDIATED DEVELOPMENTAL LOAD IN ADHD: THE DLQ-25 AS A^DIGITAL LINKING INSTRUMENT BETWEEN DSM-5-TR AND ICF-CY

Albena Ignatova
Communication Clinique, Sofia

Abstract: Categorical diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) under DSM-5-TR identifies the presence and presentation of the disorder, but not how a student functions under the language-borne demands of the classroom, where learning, self-regulation and participation are largely mediated by language. This paper frames such functioning through language-mediated developmental load. Here it is defined as the strain that arises when the language-mediated demands of the environment exceed the child’s available resource. The ICF-CY and the revised ICF Core Sets for ADHD offer a functional framework, but full assessment remains broad, team-based and time-consuming. The paper presents the Developmental Load Questionnaire (DLQ-25) as a brief complementary screening tool that operationalizes this load across five domains and a summary Developmental Load Index, can be completed by parents, teachers or specialists, and prepares and directs further functional assessment. Through an illustrative multiple-case demonstration of three constructed profiles corresponding to the DSM-5-TR presentations, the same diagnosis is shown to yield qualitatively different patterns of language-mediated developmental load. Psychometric validation on a Bulgarian school sample is outlined as the next step.

Keywords: ADHD, language-mediated developmental load, DLQ-25, ICF Core Sets, educational diplomacy

References:

  1. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2022.
  2. Willcutt, E. G., Doyle, A. E., Nigg, J. T., Faraone, S. V., & Pennington, B. F., Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analytic review. Biological Psychiatry, 57(11), 1336-1346, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.02.006
  3. Barkley, R. A., Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 65-94, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.65
  4. World Health Organization, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY). Geneva: WHO, 2007.
  5. Bölte, S., Mahdi, S., Coghill, D., et al., Standardised assessment of functioning in ADHD: Consensus on the ICF Core Sets for ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(10), 1261-1281, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1119-y
  6. Bölte, S., Alehagen, L., Black, M. H., et al., Assessment of functioning in ADHD according to World Health Organization standards: First revision of the ICF Core Sets. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 66(9), 1201-1214, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15865
  7. Sonuga-Barke, E., Thapar, A., The neurodiversity concept: is it helpful for clinicians and scientists? The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(7), 559-561, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00167-X
  8. Harrison, J. R., Soares, D. A., Rudzinski, S., Johnson, R., Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and classroombased interventions: Evidence based status, effectiveness, and moderators of effects in single-case design research. Review of Educational Research, 89(4), 569-611, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319857038
  9. DuPaul, G. J., Weyandt, L. L., & Janusis, G. M., ADHD in the classroom: Effective intervention strategies. Theory Into Practice, 50(1), 35-42, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2011.534935
  10. Cho, S.-J., & Blair, K.-S. C., Using a multicomponent function-based intervention to support students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Journal of Special Education, 50(4), 227-238, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466916655186
  11. Zamfirov, M., Pedagogicheski podhodi v obuchenieto na uchenitsi sas spetsialni obrazovatelni potrebnosti po „Chovekat i prirodata“. Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“, 2012.
  12. Damyanov, K., International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) as a framework for early intervention planning in inclusive education. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 12, 85-98, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2024.1211006
  13. Kaloyanova, N., Uchitelyat kato fasilitator – teoretichni i prakticheski aspekti. V: Profesionalni roli na uchitelya v savremennata obrazovatelna sreda. Burgas: Libra Skorp, 2020.
  14. Aleksov, B. M., Zhestova komunikatsiya v obuchenieto i rehabilitatsiyata na detsa s uvreden sluh [Avtoreferat na disertatsiya za obrazovatelna i nauchna stepen „doktor“, profesionalno napravlenie 1.2 Pedagogika]. Sofia: SU „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“, 2012.
  15. Ignatova, A., Razvitiyno natovarvane: teoretichna ramka za otsenka na komunikatsiyata i ucheneto pri detsa bilingvi i detsa sas SOP, 2026. [Pod pechat].
  16. Westby, C., & Washington, K. N., Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in assessment and intervention of school-aged children with language impairments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 48(3), 137-152, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_LSHSS-16-0037
  17. Deckers, S. R. J. M., Van Zaalen, Y., Stoep, J., et al., Communication performance of children with Down syndrome: An ICF-CY based multiple case study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 32(3), 293-311, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265659016630775
  18. Singer, J., Why can’t you be normal for once in your life? In M. Corker & S. French (Eds.), Disability Discourse (pp. 59-70). Buckingham: Open University Press, 1999.

(Endnotes:)

1. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). School-Based Interprofessional Team Assesses Student with ADHD and Developmental Language Disorder to Improve Literacy Outcomes [konstruiran eksperten kazus]. www.asha.org/practice/ipe-ipp/case-studies/case-study-27/

READ FULL PAPER