Dyslexia and ADHD, where to start?

[SchnitzelVonKrumm]

I strongly suspect my daughter may have dyslexia/dyscalculia and/or ADHD but don't know where to start with a diagnosis. People seem to advise GP for ADHD and a BDA/Dyslexia Action assessment for dyslexia but since they are often co-morbid, is there a way of assessing for both together? (Will put this in primary education too, for traffic). Thanks.

[Flanks]

Comorbidity is the norm, however it can also be unhelpful in terms of determining support.

Find a professional body you trust to do an initial interview with you and ask for their recommendation for assessment.

Ideally you decide what the primary concerns are and have these identified, then they are addressed in home and school setting. It may be that the secondary concerns are also ameliorated by this process.

However, if not you can then return for further assessment and also have the benefit of ruling out certain behaviours being caused by an already diagnosed condition.

[SchnitzelVonKrumm]

Thanks, which is the best place to start - dyslexia? Is one assessment as good as another?

[Flanks]

That I cant answer, because it depends.

Dyslexia can lead to behaviour mimicing adhd, and visa versa. Is attention lacking because the task is inaccessible, or is it inaccessible because of attention difficulties?

That is the question for a professional..

[happyland26]

I would echo everything that Flanks has about dyslexia mimicking the behaviour of ADD particularly. My daughter (age 6) has just been assessed by an Educational Psychologist and identified as dyslexic. Her working memory and auditory processing are very poor and she is just in overload in the class room and appears to have no concentration at all except of course whilst watching TV! I would personally recommend to have your daughter assessed by an Educational Psychologist as they can look for both.

[MrsC24]

I would start by asking school to refer to EP then their report can be used to send to CAHMS who will diagnose ADHD. Going to CAMHS just from GP/school referral sometimes isn't enough and it will help having a report as supporting evidence to send with forms otherwise it may just get put in a pile and you have to be specific that you are after an ADHD diagnosis. It's quite a long wait and they will need lots of chasing as just been down that road and got diagnosis for my son. Also got Behavioural Optometrist assessment done privately and they said he is showing some dyslexic traits but school have said that even a confirmed diagnosis wont make a difference to what they are already doing for him in class.

[lin13]

my son has ADD and Dyslexia, he was diagnosed a year ago with ADHD and is now on medication, i went to my GP and also went onto school to speak to his teacher to get her opinion and she helped me as she said she had already suspected it.It was only a few weeks ago school contacted me over the dyslexia to see if they could do the test, they sent me the report saying he is dyslexic aswell, it wasn't much of a shock but it was always put down to him having ADHD and not being able to concentrate.