When ADHD Meets Dyslexia and Dyscalculia.

Do you anyone who has ADHD? ADHD makes focusing, sitting still, and controlling impulses tricky. Or perhaps you know someone with dyslexia, which makes reading and writing harder. Or someone with dyscalculia, which makes understanding numbers more difficult? Perhaps you even know someone who has more than one of these.

Did you know the famous actor Channing Tatum has dyslexia? 

Part of our work will be to highlight famous people with dyslexia, how it affects them and how they overcome difficulties or use their skills to their advantage. Channing Tatum used his creativity and spatial skills to achieve the success he enjoys today. pic.twitter.com/YVdXySYWnA

— Holy Cross Hamilton (@holycrossham) November 3, 2018

Although most people with one of these conditions only have one, some people have several. Scientists have been studying why. Kids with more than one of these differences sometimes struggle more in school and social situations than kids with just one. So, it’s important to understand why they often happen together.

But first lets look a little closer these conditions. 

What is ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia? 

ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia are all examples of ‘neurodivergence’. This just means that the brains of people with these conditions work a little differently than people without. It is important to remember it doesn’t mean a neurodivergent brain works any worse.

There are some incredible advantages to being neurodivergent. All our brains work differently and that is what makes the world so interesting. However, sometimes, the particular way people with these ‘different’ brains think can make life difficult, particularly in school. That’s why scientists need to understand everything they can so we can make sure people get the help they need.

ADHD explained

Image by Tara Winstead

The brain of someone with ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder works a bit like a race car. Zooming really fast and jumping from one thing to the other. This often leads to lots of energy and some really creative thinking. Lots of inventors and athletes have ADHD. Did you know Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and astronaut Scott Kelly both have ADHD?

But it can also cause some problems. Like finding it hard to sit still, daydreaming when you should be concentrating in class or interrupting people when they are talking. 

Famous people with adhd pic.twitter.com/ta75v1yzh1

— Shez (@shereehankir1) February 7, 2023

Dyslexia explained

Image by Alex Quezada

People with dyslexia have brains that work in different ways when it comes to reading and writing. Sometimes words and letters can look jumbled and be hard to understand. Reading might feel slow or tiring. And spelling can be tricky. But it doesn’t mean someone with dyslexia isn’t intelligent- in fact, some of our world’s greatest artists and leaders have dyslexia. 

Anthony Mackie, actor and star of Captain America, has dyslexia. Here, he describes the struggles he had with reading, due to dyslexia. https://t.co/IEul2iUeSg #dyslexia #ADHD #dysgraphia pic.twitter.com/qNpJMDQm5u

— Dyslexia Connect (@ConnectDyslexia) February 20, 2025

Dyscalculia explained

Image by Karolina Gabowska

Dyscalculia is a bit like dyslexia but with numbers. Maths can feel really confusing even with lots of practice. It can be hard to remember math facts like 2 +2=4. Or telling the time, measuring things and counting money might be extra tricky. People with dyscalculia may have trouble doing these things, but they are often great at thinking of creative solutions to problems. 

Here a woman with dyscalculia explains how it affects her.

Why do people often have more than one?

Researchers have noticed that people who have signs of ADHD often also have trouble with writing, reading or maths. But they weren’t sure why. They had a few ideas why it could be:

• ·  One condition might cause the other.
  •  If reading or math is really hard, it could make it tough to concentrate in class, making ADHD-like symptoms worse. Or ADHD might make it harder to learn, leading to learning difficulties. 
• ·  Something in the environment might cause both. 
  • Maybe something at home or school makes a child more likely to develop these differences. 
• ·  Genes might be the link.. 
  • The final idea? The answer might be in our genes, the tiny instructions inside our bodies that help decide everything from our eye color to how we learn. Some scientists believe that certain genes make people more likely to have ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia at the same time

A team of scientists from the Netherlands wanted to find out which idea was right. 

What Did the Scientists Discover?

To test these ideas, scientists in the Netherlands studied twins and siblings who were 7 or 10 years old. They checked their reading, spelling, math skills, and ADHD symptoms. Here’s what they found:

• Kids with ADHD, dyslexia or dyscalculia were more likely to have one of the other conditions than kids without. 
• The overlap wasn’t caused by one condition leading to the other or by something at home or school. Instead, the link came from genetics, something in their genes made kids more likely to have more than one of these conditions.

Talking of genes, want to learn how doctors use super-smart computers to read our genes and discover new ways to treat diseases? Check out our blog all about how AI is helping doctors do amazing things!

What does this mean?

This discovery is important because it means that if someone has two conditions, they need help for both. For example, treating ADHD alone won’t necessarily make dyslexia or dyscalculia better. It also reminds us that no one is to blame for these differences, it’s mostly about genetics.

What’s Next?

Scientists will keep studying which genes are involved and how they affect each other. They will also try to find ways to use this information to help neurodivergent people get the support they need earlier and more easily.

The more we learn, the better we can understand and celebrate neurodiversity because different ways of thinking make the world a more interesting place!

Science is awesome. So is asking questions.

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Let’s Talk About It

Do you think learning more about our genes will help teachers understand how we learn, or might it make kids feel more different? We’d love to know what you think- just let us know in the comment box below.