If you’re a parent of a child with ADHD who struggles to read, this post delves into how these two conditions (Dyslexia and ADHD) often co-exist along with some practical tips to help your child thrive.
Many parents, and even educators, face a critical question when a child struggles: Are they struggling to focus because they have ADHD? Are they avoiding reading because they have dyslexia? What if they have both Dyslexia and ADHD? Getting to the heart of this issue is critical. It determines if your child needs organizational help, reading intervention, or both.
Studies suggest that anywhere from 25% to 40% of individuals with ADHD also have dyslexia and vice versa. That’s a lot of children with Dyslexia and ADHD. Basically, it’s a significant overlap that is referred to as co-morbidity, meaning that the conditions are frequently seen together. As a parent, you need to be aware that the more outwardly disruptive symptoms of ADHD (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity) can actually mask the foundational struggles of dyslexia.
When a child is distracted, fidgety, or avoiding schoolwork, it’s easy to attribute all problems to ADHD. However, if that child is spending pretty much all their cognitive energy just trying to decode a word, they’ll have no mental energy left to maintain focus or comprehend the text. In this instance, the reading struggle is the root cause of the distraction. Unfortunately, this masking effect can delay diagnosis of dyslexia, along with appropriate intervention. So where do you start if you suspect Dyslexia and ADHD?
By looking for patterns. Have your child read out loud to you. Does your child consistently misread or guess at words? Is reading a slow, laborious process? Do they avoid reading? Does the inattention become worse when they are reading? These are all clues that dyslexia and ADHD are at play.
When faced with dyslexia and ADHD remember that the goal is to provide support so they can thrive. Listed below are 5 things to better understand the issues and create an optimal environment for learning.
You’ll want to obtain a full evaluation that can differentiate between Dyslexia and ADHD, as well as identify specific areas of need. Investigate where to obtain a comprehensive evaluation in your area by looking for a neuropsychologist or an educational psychologist who is familiar with both conditions and can assess the severity of each. Frequently, the ADHD will be noticed long before the reading issues are uncovered. A full evaluation covers several areas:
If the evaluation results show both dyslexia and ADHD then you’ll have a better understanding of the framework needed to minimize distractions and maximize learning. For example, one of my students with dyslexia and ADHD switched the time of their lessons from afternoons to mornings before school. This was a game changer as the student was refreshed and able to absorb the learning compared with being exhausted in the afternoon.
You want to create a predictable daily schedule for homework and activities. Use visual schedules or checklists to provide the structure necessary to manage organizational challenges. Remember the more predictable everything is, the easier to navigate. If daily schedules vary significantly by day of the week, create a checklist for each day. Have your child create the list with you. Ask, what they need to do when they come home from school. List the activities from when they arrive home until bedtime. Place the list in a highly visible location. Let them check off the different tasks as they accomplish them. There is something magical in checking off an item.
Your child needs to learn specific skills like planning, time management, and task initiation. These skills can also be called Executive Function. You need to know that these skills might not be taught in school anymore. I share a case in point, in which the middle school in my area stopped providing students with planners several years ago. The teachers no longer incorporated the “how to use the planner” into the lesson planning, and students were left to figure it out on their own. In a few short years, everyone noticed a significant decline in planning skills among middle school students. If your child was in middle school when planners were not part of the lessons, they moved on to high school not knowing how to plan their assignments and manage their time. Needless to say, planners have been incorporated once again into the Middle School Curriculum.
Have your child take 5-10 minutes every day before starting homework to record what needs to be done that day, as well as for that week. Look for a planner that include: month at a glance along with a weekly outlook. Write the subjects in the same order every week. Consistency improves organization. When sharing how to use a planner, include how to break a large assignment into smaller, manageable steps. Model writing each step (along with the amount of time needed to accomplish the task) directly in the planner. Color code everything. Use a blue binder, a blue folder, along with a blue notebook for one subject in order to create visual associations. Let your child select the colors for a sense of ownership.
Use technology as a helpful aid. If your child has dyslexia and reads at a slower pace, audiobooks can help them keep up with the pace of the reading. This is especially important if your child becomes tired after reading for a short period of time. Use the book to follow along with the audio book. This will build automaticity as they recognize how to decode multisyllabic words. When writing, text-to-speech software can help your child focus on what they want to write without the physical struggles of handwriting. Consider a digital planner on their computer. Many can be printed out so your child has a physical copy to quickly write in. A word of caution about digital planners on a cell phone. They might not be a viable alternative as many schools have banned cell phone usage during the day.
You want to reduce visual and auditory clutter in the homework space. This is a case of less is more. Think Zen! Create a designated “focus zone” without distractions. This helps the ADHD brain stay regulated. You can minimize background noise by turning off the TV or limiting other activity. Seat the child away from doors, windows, and high-traffic areas. Another thing you can do for focus, is to use noise-cancelling headphones. Lastly, you’ll want to incorporate movement breaks into their homework routine. Stand up to stretch for 30 seconds after 15 minutes of work. These breaks help to refocus the brain and prevent mind wandering.
By creating an environment that minimizes distractions that can affect someone with Dyslexia and ADHD you will help them focus on learning how to read. Each child is different so adapt these tips for what works best in your family. Share this post with another parent who could benefit from the information about Dyslexia and ADHD.
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