Dyslexia and ADHD Together: What Parents Need to Know
Reading is hard. It's always been hard. And homework — which requires both reading and sustained attention — is a daily battle. You've been told it's ADHD. But something about what you're seeing looks like more than attention.
You may be right. Dyslexia and ADHD co-occur in 25–40% of cases — significantly higher than chance. Both are genetic, both involve differences in how the brain processes information, and both are frequently missed when the other is present.
How Dyslexia and ADHD Interact
Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that affects the processing of written language — specifically, difficulty connecting letters to sounds (phonemic awareness), which makes reading and spelling harder regardless of intelligence.
ADHD affects attention, impulse control, and executive function.
When both are present, each makes the other harder to identify and manage. The ADHD makes it harder to practice the strategies that help dyslexia. The dyslexia makes reading-dependent tasks so effortful that the ADHD attention difficulties are magnified. The combined cognitive load is genuinely high.
Why It's Frequently Missed
ADHD can be identified and treated without dyslexia being noticed — the inattention explains the reading difficulties and the dyslexia never gets assessed. Alternatively, the dyslexia gets intensive intervention but the underlying ADHD is never addressed, and the child continues to struggle with organisation, task initiation, and sustained attention.
Both conditions need to be assessed independently.
What to Ask for
Request a full educational psychologist assessment that specifically addresses both ADHD and specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia). In the UK this is typically done by an EP through the school or privately. In Australia, a neuropsychologist or educational psychologist can provide this. In the US, the school district is required to assess if you request it.
The assessment should include: IQ subtest analysis, phonological processing, reading and spelling assessments, and working memory evaluation.
What Support Looks Like
For the dyslexia component: structured literacy instruction (specifically Orton-Gillingham or similar synthetic phonics approaches), text-to-speech tools, audio books, and reduced written output demands. Time accommodations for exams.
For the ADHD component: the full range of ADHD supports — structured environment, executive function scaffolding, movement breaks, and consideration of whether medication would help.
Both components need to be addressed simultaneously. Support for one without the other produces partial results.