ADHD and dyslexia are different brain disorders. But they often overlap. About 3 in 10 people with dyslexia also have ADHD. And if you have ADHD, you’re six times more likely than most people to have a mental illness or a learning disorder such as dyslexia.

Dyslexic children, like children with AD/HD, may have difficulty paying attention because reading is so demanding that it causes them to fatigue easily, limiting the ability to sustain concentration. People with dyslexia and those with AD/HD both have difficulty with reading.

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. It’s a specific learning difficulty, which means it causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing. Unlike a learning disability, intelligence isn’t affected.

Around age 5 or 6 years, when kids begin learning to read, dyslexia symptoms become more apparent. Children who are at risk of reading disabilities can be identified in kindergarten. There is no standardized test for dyslexia, so your child’s doctor will work with you to evaluate their symptoms.

Grades 3–5 signs of dyslexia

• Confusing or skipping small words like for and of when reading aloud.
• Having trouble sounding out new words.
• Having trouble quickly recognizing common words (also called sight words )
• Struggling to explain what happened in a story or answer questions about key details.

Testing your child is not always necessary for teaching them successfully. Know that teaching reading and other language arts to a dyslexic child takes more time, more intensity and much more practice than teaching a child without dyslexia.

How you can help your child

• Read to your child. This will improve their vocabulary and listening skills, and will also encourage their interest in books.
• Share reading. Both read some of the book and then discuss what’s happening, or what might happen.
• Overlearning.
• Silent reading.
• Make reading fun.

Dyslexia falls under the definition of a Special Educational Need defined under s20 Childrens and Families Act 2014 (CFA) as where the child has as a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made.