ADHD and dyslexia: two neurodevelopmental disorders that frequently coexist
ADHD and dyslexia coexist in approximately 25 to 40% of people who have one of these disorders. This frequent comorbidity creates particularly significant difficulties at school, which require coordinated support and adjustments that address both dimensions simultaneously.
Why the two disorders so often coexist
ADHD and dyslexia share certain common genetic factors and overlapping cognitive mechanisms, in particular difficulties with verbal working memory that affect both sustained attention and phonological processing. This shared basis explains their frequent coexistence. In addition, the attentional difficulties of ADHD often worsen the reading difficulties of dyslexia by making it even harder to concentrate on the decoding needed for reading.
The school manifestations of this dual difficulty
When ADHD and dyslexia coexist, the picture at school is particularly complex. Reading is doubly affected: by the decoding difficulties of dyslexia and by the attentional difficulties of ADHD, which make it even harder to keep attention on a text that has to be deciphered. Note-taking in class is especially hard: the child struggles to write quickly because of their dyslexia and loses the thread of the lesson because of their ADHD. And cognitive fatigue is intense, as the child has to make enormous efforts in almost every school activity.
Support that addresses both disorders
The speech and language therapist supports the dyslexia. The doctor or child psychiatrist supports the ADHD. The two professionals need to work together so that therapeutic approaches are consistent and reinforce each other. The PAP must include adjustments that cover both disorders: speech synthesis and audio texts for dyslexia, extra time and task breakdown for ADHD.
The strengths of the dual profile
People who have both ADHD and dyslexia often develop remarkable compensatory strategies and specific strengths. Visual and spatial thinking, creativity, verbal and emotional intelligence are often highly developed. To find out everything about dyslexia, ladyslexie.fr offers comprehensive resources for families.
