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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reading disorder, and specific language impairment are neurodevelopmental disorders that are associated with less positive adult outcomes in several important domains including academic, mental health, and employment status (Barbaresi, Katusic, Colligan, Weaver, & Jacobsen, 2007; Johnson, Beitchman, & Brownlie, 2010; Wilson, Furrie, Armstrong, & Walcot, 2009). ADHD is often diagnosed in early elementary school with approximately 5% of children and youth exhibiting the disorder (Polanczyk, de Lima, Hort, Biederman, & Rohde, 2007; Willcutt, 2012). The current DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ADHD (APA, 2013) require children to exhibit at least six symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity in at least two contexts (e.g., home and school). These symptoms must cause impairment in daily functioning (e.g., academic difficulties and peer problems) and be persistent over time (APA, 2013). Dyslexia is defined as a specific disability in reading that typically manifests as decoding and spelling difficulties that often result in impairments in reading fluency and reading comprehension (Snowling & Hulme, 2012). These reading difficulties occur despite average or better intellectual ability and the receipt of appropriate instruction (Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003; Snowling, 2013). Specific language impairments, in turn, reflect oral language weaknesses that occur in the absence of an identified cause, such as intellectual disability (Bishop & Snowling, 2004).
Despite dissimilar diagnostic criteria, reading and oral language impairments often co-occur (Pennington & Bishop, 2009) and both are more likely to be identified in children with ADHD than in their typically developing peers (August & Garfinkel, 1990; McGrath et al., 2008; Mueller & Tomblin, 2012; Willcutt & Pennington, 2000). This overlap, otherwise described as comorbidity, is important for parents and educators to recognize as it has implications for the assessment and intervention of children and youth with ADHD. The goals of this article are to describe recent research documenting the overlap of ADHD with reading and language difficulties and to highlight the implications of these findings for practice at home and at school.
Understanding ADHD
ADHD occurs in approximately 5% of children (Willcutt, 2012) and is characterized by developmentally inappropriate behavior in at least one of two dimensions: inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity (APA, 2013). Despite the fact that hyperactive-impulsive symptoms may be more overtly visible in the classroom, evidence indicates that learning problems are more strongly...