Dyslexia and ADHD

ADHD and dyslexia often show up together.  Not always, but definitely enough times that tons of research has been done on coexisting conditions. Many other things often occur with these 2, but these 2 are the ones I have the most experience with.  This could be one of the reasons some parents say their child is too lazy or doesn't pay attention well enough to learn to read.  However, many times, those same children also have extremely high listening comprehension or are very good at other subjects that require less reading but more hands-on interaction.  While the inability to pay attention may hinder reading, it does not mean they are lazy, unwilling, or that they are incapable of learning to read because they lack the ability to pay attention to the reading lesson long enough.  It simply means that they need a completely different approach.  One that is multisensory and quickly paced enough that they get the basics of what they need from each lesson without expecting them to pay attention for longer than they are capable. 

The program that I use is one of those. There are many more out there that are designed specifically with the dyslexic ADHD brain in mind.  These programs are usually very effective.  However, not all programs are one-size-fits-all, and any program that claims to be one is not telling you the truth.  A good therapist trained in one of the programs will also tell you that, but like me, will try their hardest to make it work.  One with a lot of training in other programs will also be able to adapt the lessons to fit the child, as I have done numerous times.  

But this isn't about the particular program; it's about the frustration a dyslexic child with ADHD has to learn to read. Many times, these children's brains just function too quickly to be able to take in a word correctly, or they will want to rush through their reading and come away not understanding what they read.  They become frustrated that they can't learn to read quickly, and for some students, they become angry and completely shut down. Getting them to slow down to learn to read can be a challenge, and they may need to move a lot.  

When a child's brain can't slow down enough to focus on letters on a page, especially when their dyslexic brain can't make sense of those words, they may act out, say it's stupid, or they're stupid, say they're bored, etc. It's not any of these things. These are just reactions to the frustration they're feeling.  One thing that I've learned over the last 7 years working with these children is that regardless of the frustration, the acting out, and the negative self-talk, consistency is key.  The procedures have to stay the same; you can't change them every day to try to make it fun because this actually makes the learning take longer.  Keeping it consistent helps their brain make new pathways that make reading easier.  This helps with their attention as well, at least as far as reading is concerned.  As the letters on the page begin to make more sense, they're able to hold their attention to those letters longer and make meaning of them.  Meaning is one of the things that helps with attention, especially if it's something they enjoy.  I've seen kids with ADHD with mild dyslexia refusing to pick up a book at all at the beginning of working with them; to reading full chapter books in one sitting in genres they truly enjoy.  All because of the consistency they had when learning to read using a multi-sensory reading program designed for students with dyslexia.

So, if you are helping your dyslexic child with ADHD learn to read on your own, remember, consistency, consistency, patience, more consistency, and more patience is going to help your child thrive.  Using that same technique in all areas of your child's life will also help in other areas.  It's not going to "cure" dyslexia or ADHD, but it is going to give your child a whole host of coping skills to make both aspects a lot easier.