Learning Disabilities: And ADHD

ADHD is one of the most common pediatric disorders diagnosed today. In a current study, researchers found that children diagnosed with ADHD also had learning disabilities, especially writing and reading. Now the important thing is that not ALL children with ADHD have learning disabilities. This is something as a special educator that I have known intuitively throughout my entire career. But seeing the numbers of children who can be effected in print somehow validates this observation for me and makes it more important. And I think it is important to bring it to our attention again. Think about this statistic. At least 2/3 of boys diagnosed with ADHD have writing disability (which is highly related to reading disability), compared to 1 in 6 in those who do not have the disorder. In addition, 57% of girls with ADHD also have writing disability, compared to 1 in 10 who do not have it. In addition, girls with ADHD are 10 times more likely to also have reading disability. There are implications here. If your son or daughter is diagnosed with ADHD it can seriously effect their learning and their future outcomes. It's a good idea when a parent gets this diagnosis to follow up with a screening for learning disabilities. It can change your child's life.