Dyslexia is more common among people with ADHD than it is among the broader population. If you have both, a combination of reading interventions, ADHD treatments, and other strategies can help.
For the third time in 10 minutes, the teacher says, “Read.” The child picks up the book and tries again, but before long, she’s off-task: fidgeting, wandering, distracted.
Is this due to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or dyslexia? Or perhaps a combination of both?
ADHD and dyslexia can co-exist. Although one disorder doesn’t cause the other, people with one often have both.
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Symptoms of the two conditions can be similar, making it hard to figure out what’s causing the behavior you’re seeing.
According to the International Dyslexia Association, ADHD and dyslexia can both cause people to be “dysfluent readers.” They leave out parts of what they’re reading. They get tired, frustrated, and distracted when they try to read. They may even act out or refuse to read.
ADHD and dyslexia both make it hard for people to understand what they’ve read, despite the fact that they’re intelligent and often very verbal.
When they write, their handwriting may be messy, and there are often problems with spelling. All of this can mean they have difficulty living up to their academic or professional potential. That sometimes leads to anxiety, lower self-esteem, and depression.
But while symptoms of ADHD and dyslexia overlap, the two conditions are different. They’re diagnosed and treated differently, so it’s important to understand each one separately.
ADHD is a chronic condition that makes it hard for people to focus on tasks that require them to organize, pay close attention, or follow through on instructions.
People with ADHD are also physically active to a degree that might be seen as inappropriate in some settings.
For example, a student with ADHD might shout out answers, wiggle, and interrupt others in class. Students with ADHD aren’t always disruptive in class, though.
ADHD might cause some kids not to perform well on long standardized tests, or they might not turn in long-term projects.
ADHD can also show up differently across the gender spectrum.
What ADHD looks like in adults
Because ADHD is a long-term condition, these symptoms can continue into adulthood. Experts estimate that 60% of children with ADHD become adults with ADHD.
Symptoms might not be as apparent in adults as they are in children. Adults with ADHD might have trouble focusing. They could be forgetful, restless, fatigued, or disorganized and have difficulties following through on complicated tasks.
Dyslexia is a reading disorder that varies in how it affects people.
If you have dyslexia, you might have trouble pronouncing words when you see them in writing, even if you use the word in your everyday speech. That might be because your brain has difficulty linking sounds to the letters on the page — something called phonemic awareness.
You might also have trouble recognizing or decoding whole words.
Researchers are learning more about how the brain processes written language, but the exact causes of dyslexia are not yet known. What is known is that reading requires several areas of the brain to work together.
When people without dyslexia read, specific brain regions activate and interact. People with dyslexia activate different brain areas and use different neural pathways when they read.
What dyslexia looks like in adults
Like ADHD, dyslexia is a lifelong problem. Adults with dyslexia may have gone undiagnosed at school and may mask the problem well at work, but they may still have difficulty reading forms, manuals, and tests required for promotions and certifications.
They might also have difficulty with planning or short-term memory.
According to the International Dyslexia Association, readers with dyslexia sometimes misread words and can have trouble reading accurately.
Readers with ADHD, on the other hand, don’t usually misread words. They might lose their place or skip paragraphs or punctuation marks.
Management strategies and treatments are available for both ADHD and dyslexia. Consider the following tips if a healthcare professional provides your child with a diagnosis of both.
Intervene early
If your child has ADHD and dyslexia, it’s vital that you meet with the whole educational team, which may include:
- teachers
- administrators
- educational psychologists
- counselors
- behavior specialists
- reading specialists
Your child has the right to an education that meets their needs.
In the United States, that means an individual educational plan (IEP), special testing, classroom accommodations, tutoring, intensive reading instruction, behavior plans, and other services that could make a big difference in school success.
Work with a reading intervention specialist
Studies show that the brain can adapt, and your reading ability can improve if you use interventions that target your decoding skills and your knowledge of how sounds are made.
Treat both conditions
While reading interventions help, a 2019 study notes that treating ADHD is also essential in ensuring the best outcomes. Researchers found that while reading interventions helped with decoding, ADHD treatment benefited passage comprehension.
Consider all your treatment options for ADHD
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Take up singing or a musical instrument
Neither ADHD nor dyslexia is curable, but you can treat both conditions.
Treatment for ADHD involves behavior therapy and medication, while dyslexia treatment uses a range of reading interventions that focus on decoding and articulation.
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition. However, with early interventions, people with dyslexia
Many people with ADHD also have dyslexia.
It can be hard to tell them apart because the symptoms — distraction, frustration, and reading difficulty — overlap to a large degree.
It’s important to talk with doctors and teachers as early as possible because effective medical, psychological, and educational treatments do exist. Getting help for both conditions can make a big difference, not just in educational outcomes, but in long-term self-esteem for both kids and adults.