Many students with dyslexia also have ADHD. How can we help these students make progress, and discern which symptoms come from each issue? For more information on this topic, as well as details about our online dyslexia tutoring program, please visit us at http://www.dyslexiaconnect.com .

Dyslexia and ADHD are often discussed together. The reason for this is that many students with dyslexia also have ADHD. Additionally, due to the natures of dyslexia and ADHD, the overlap in the symptoms of these two issues may lead to confusion.

One primary symptom of ADHD is difficulty concentrating. When it comes to reading, spelling and homework, a child with ADHD may avoid these things, simply because they have a hard time sitting down and focusing. They may be distracted by anything that is going on around them, and they may also engage in avoidance techniques, to try to bypass doing schoolwork. A child with dyslexia may do this, but for different reasons. For a child with dyslexia who has not received the proper instruction, reading and spelling may be so exhausting, overwhelming and difficult, that they attempt to completely avoid these activities. They may try to distract the adult who they are working with, so that they are not required to read. If a parent succeeds in sitting them down to do reading, the child may seem constantly distracted and be shifting around in their chair. In some cases, a child with dyslexia may even show physical aversion to reading and spelling, actually turning away from the book, spelling or homework that is placed in front of them.

For this reason, the symptoms of dyslexia and ADHD are sometimes confused. So, how do we tell them apart? The first step is to learn the symptoms of both dyslexia and ADHD in detail. For dyslexia, try checking out our series of videos on the symptoms of dyslexia. Once you know the symptoms, it will become much easier to recognize them and tell them apart. Another good strategy is to have your child read out loud to you. If a child only has ADHD, you may find that their reading is decent, once you are able to help them sit down and focus on the task at hand. However, if a child has dyslexia, you are going to notice the common signs of dyslexia as they read, such as skipping words, adding words that are not in the sentence, reading words incorrectly, and general trouble with reading accuracy.

If a child has both dyslexia and ADHD, it may be a bit more challenging to properly classify the symptoms. One good way to do this is to get the child the help that they need for their reading, by enrolling them in dyslexia tutoring. The dyslexia tutoring will help their reading and spelling improve, and in turn, it will become easier to recognize which symptoms are specifically related to ADHD, and not dyslexia. In addition, a good dyslexia tutor is skilled at interpreting the symptoms of both dyslexia and ADHD, because they likely have experience working with students who have both. So, you can ask a dyslexia tutor for help in determining which symptoms are related to each issue.

Peter Groth
CEO
Dyslexia Connect Online Tutoring
http://www.dyslexiaconnect.com