Can a Child Have Dyslexia and Something Else? What Parents Need to Know About Co-Occurring Conditions

If your child has been diagnosed with dyslexia and progress feels slower than you expected, you may be wondering:

Is dyslexia the only thing going on?

Often, the answer is no.

Dyslexia frequently overlaps with other learning differences. In professional language, these are called co-occurring conditions or comorbidities. It simply means more than one learning system is affected at the same time.

Understanding this can change how you view progress, timelines, and expectations.

It does not remove hope.

It brings clarity.

What Are Co-Occurring Conditions With Dyslexia?

Many parents are surprised to learn how common co-occurring conditions with dyslexia really are. In my experience, a large percentage of the students I work with have at least one additional learning difference that affects progress. Here are the most common co-occurring conditions with dyslexia that I see in my practice.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) 

You may see ADHD listed in an evaluation report.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. Psychologists diagnose ADHD using the DSM-5-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision), which is the manual professionals use to determine formal diagnoses.

ADHD and dyslexia are separate conditions, but they often overlap.

If your child has ADHD, you may notice:

• Difficulty sustaining attention

• Emotional ups and downs during schoolwork

• Work that begins strong but does not get finished

• Inconsistent performance

Reading intervention supports language systems. ADHD affects attention regulation. When both are present, both areas need support.

Executive Function Weakness

Even without an ADHD diagnosis, some children struggle with executive functioning.

Executive functions are brain skills that help with planning, organization, task initiation, and emotional regulation.

You may notice:

• Difficulty getting started

• Trouble organizing materials

• Emotional overwhelm when tasks feel hard

• Poor time awareness

What looks like resistance is often cognitive strain.

Slow Processing Speed

Processing speed refers to how quickly a child can complete familiar mental tasks.

Children with slow processing speed may:

• Read accurately but slowly

• Take much longer to complete homework

• Struggle with timed tests

• Fatigue easily

One of my students had dyslexia and extremely slow processing speed. What most students completed in one hour took her two.

She still learned to read. Her decoding became solid. Her comprehension was strong. Her fluency improved meaningfully.

Slow processing affects the timeline, not the outcome.

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN)

Most students with dyslexia initially struggle with decoding accuracy. With intervention, decoding often improves.

But some children continue to read slowly even after they can decode words correctly.

You may hear the term Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) in an evaluation.

RAN measures how quickly a child can name familiar symbols such as letters or numbers. It reflects how efficiently the brain retrieves known information.

When RAN is weak, a child may:

• Decode accurately

• Improve in word reading

• Still struggle to become fluent

Fluency can improve. It may simply require more repetition and time.

Speech Sound Disorder (SSD)

Many children with dyslexia have a history of speech therapy.

The formal diagnosis used in evaluations is Speech Sound Disorder.

Speech-language pathologists may use more specific terms such as:

• Articulation disorder, meaning difficulty producing individual sounds

• Phonological disorder, meaning patterns of sound errors

• Childhood apraxia of speech, a motor speech disorder affecting speech planning

Not every child with Speech Sound Disorder develops dyslexia. However, weaknesses in sound production and sound awareness are closely connected to reading development.

You may notice:

• Difficulty hearing individual sounds in words

• Trouble segmenting and blending

• Inconsistent pronunciation

When speech and reading systems are both supported appropriately, progress is often stronger.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

You may hear the term Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

DLD involves persistent difficulties with vocabulary, sentence structure, and understanding complex language.

If decoding improves but comprehension remains weak, language may be part of the picture.

DLD and dyslexia frequently overlap.

Dysgraphia (Written Expression Disorder)

You may hear the term dysgraphia.

In the DSM-5-TR, dysgraphia falls under Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in written expression.

Dysgraphia can involve:

• Handwriting difficulty

• Severe spelling weakness

• Difficulty organizing written ideas

• Slow written output

I worked with a student who scored in the bottom 2nd percentile in spelling but read above grade level. He also had a history of speech sound difficulties.

Because his reading appeared strong, he was denied services at school.

We used the Wilson Reading System to explicitly target spelling and encoding. His progress was significant.

Spelling weakness is not cosmetic. It limits vocabulary use, writing complexity, and confidence.

A child can read well and still need intervention.

Dyscalculia (Math Learning Disorder)

You may hear the term dyscalculia.

In the DSM-5-TR, dyscalculia falls under Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in mathematics.

Dyscalculia affects:

• Number sense

• Understanding quantity and magnitude

• Math fact retrieval

• Multi-step problem solving

Dyslexia and dyscalculia can occur together. When they do, both reading and math systems require support.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Some children with dyslexia also meet criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

ASD involves differences in social communication and patterns of behavior.

When ASD is part of the learning profile, comprehension, inference, and flexible thinking may require additional support.

Anxiety and Emotional Health

Children with dyslexia are at increased risk for anxiety.

You may notice:

• School avoidance

• Emotional shutdown

• Meltdowns during reading and writing

I once worked with a student whose behavior nearly stopped intervention. There were moments I wondered if we could continue.

But we stayed consistent. His parents stayed consistent. We adjusted pacing while continuing structured literacy instruction.

As his reading improved, his anxiety decreased. The major outbursts became smaller. The lessons became smoother.

Competence builds calm

When More Than One Thing Is Going On

If progress feels slower than expected, it may not be because intervention is ineffective.

It may be because more than one learning system needs support.

More complexity does not mean less hope.

It may mean:

• More repetition

• More explicit instruction

• More patience

• More coordination between professionals

But growth is still possible.

Every student I described here progressed.

The timeline looked different.

The path looked different.

The growth was real.

If your instincts tell you there may be more to your child’s story, trust that instinct.

Understanding the full picture may feel overwhelming at first.

But clarity is empowering.

Because clarity leads to the right help.

If you suspect dyslexia is not the only factor, the next step is clarity.

I offer free consultations for families who want to understand their child’s learning profile and determine what intervention will actually help. Schedule your free consultation today.

Book a Free Consultation

About the Author

Hi, I’m Heidi. I am a licensed Reading Specialist and a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner with over 20 years of experience in education. Since 2022, I have been supporting children with dyslexia and spelling challenges both online and in person through private practice, working with students in grades 2–12 in the United States and with international school students around the world.

My goal is to make this journey less overwhelming and more empowering for families, helping children gain confidence and success in reading and spelling.

Connect with Heidi at Successfuldyslexiatutoring.com or on Linked in.

References 

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Publishing.

Bishop, D. V. M., Snowling, M. J., Thompson, P. A., Greenhalgh, T., & the CATALISE Consortium. (2017). CATALISE: A multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study of problems with language development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(10), 1068–1080.

International Dyslexia Association. (2019). Dyslexia handbook: What every family should know. International Dyslexia Association.

International Dyslexia Association. (2023). Structured literacy: Effective instruction for students with dyslexia and related reading difficulties. International Dyslexia Association.

Pennington, B. F., & Bishop, D. V. M. (2009). Relations among speech, language, and reading disorders. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 283–306.

Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (2020). The Science of Reading: A Handbook. Wiley-Blackwell.

Willcutt, E. G., Pennington, B. F., Duncan, L., et al. (2010). Understanding the complex etiologies of developmental disorders: Behavioral and molecular genetic approaches. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 16–32.

Wolf, M., & Denckla, M. B. (2005). RAN/RAS: Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Tests. Pro-Ed.