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ADHD and Reading: Why It’s Hard and How to Help Your Child (2026)

Marvi M. Andres

reviewed by Franz Jerby Delos Santos

Updated on July 6, 2026

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The reason children with ADHD struggle with reading is not because they lack intelligence, but because inattention symptoms interfere with working memory, and processing speed — cognitive functions a kid needs for reading. To help a neurodivergent child improve reading skills, you can use strategies that range from reading aloud together to getting a reading tutor.

ADHD and Reading Difficulties

ADHD reading problems are most commonly linked to inattention symptoms affecting working memory, executive function, and processing speed function, according to the July 2025 article by Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. This means that a child with ADHD can struggle with staying focused when reading, which in turn can lead to other issues, including with reading comprehension.

• Inattention symptoms are the main cause of reading difficulties, leading to slower processing speed 
• Slower processing speed means bigger cognitive load on a child’s brain, which is why the brain can’t properly grasp the information the child just read
• Inability to hold on to the read information means weakening working memory, which completes the cycle of poor reading performance overall.

Sharing thoughts on reading difficulties occurring in kids with ADHD, Clary Tepper, a licensed psychologist, also mentions that, unlike the common misconception, inattention is the main issue here, not hyperactivity or impulsivity.

“Many people think that reading difficulties in ADHD are linked to symptoms of hyperactivity or impulsivity.”

However, research consistently shows us that it is inattention and its associated problems with working memory, processing speed, and stimulus discriminability (which is the ability to distinguish relevant from irrelevant details) that are what is associated with reading problems in ADHD.

Clary Tepper

Licensed psychologist

As for research on whether ADHD does affect reading, a July 2024 article in the Children journal cites research revealing that around 30% of children with ADHD are significantly behind their neurotypical peers in terms of reading proficiency, which suggests that reading difficulties are quite common in neurodivergent kids. The article also mentions that these difficulties are linked to such ADHD symptoms as inattention, executive function deficits, and phonological processing problems.

Another study supporting inattention being the biggest cause of reading struggles in ADHD kids is the American Psychiatric Association October 2025 review, which states that children with inattentive ADHD type have trouble staying focused when reading.

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Reading Comprehension Challenges in Children with ADHD

ADHD and reading comprehension challenges coexist in many kids, according to the CHADD April 2022 article, which states that children with ADHD frequently experience a specific reading comprehension deficit (S-RCD) — they have no problem reading the words accurately even aloud (decoding), but struggle with understanding what they’re reading.

According to the article, the functions that have the biggest impact on reading comprehension deficit in kids with ADHD include self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and working memory:

• Self-regulation: Kids who struggle to sit still use up a lot of mental energy to manage their behavior and actions, which means less focus on reading comprehension — kids just rush through text, putting speed over skill
• Cognitive flexibility: Kids struggle to move on from just decoding words to grasping their meaning, which makes it hard to concentrate on understanding the text while reading
• Working memory: Kids struggle to remember what they’ve just read, which makes it hard for them to put together the whole picture of the story in the end.

ADHD vs Dyslexia: Key Differences in Reading

Based on the ADDitude September 2025 article, the main difference in ADHD and dyslexia when it comes to causing reading struggles is that ADHD reading difficulties usually stem from inattention, while dyslexia-related reading challenges come from the inability to actually decode the words.

Source: ADDitude, 2024

In general, kids with ADHD struggle with how to focus while reading and remember what they’ve just read, but can usually decode words without much trouble, while when it comes to dyslexia and reading, kids have the opposite problem — they can pay attention, but decoding skills and phonological awareness (recognizing and sounding out words) are their weak areas.

The ADDitude article also states that both conditions can co-occur in kids, with 25%-40% of individuals with ADHD also having dyslexia. However, the cases of such co-occurrence do not mean a kid with ADHD has dyslexia or vice versa. For example, Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a Regulation First Parenting expert, believes that dyslexia may frequently lead to attention problems that are commonly associated with ADHD because the brain becomes overwhelmed with decoding.

“The biggest misconception is that all kids with reading difficulties, especially dyslexia, must also have ADHD.”

The majority of children with dyslexia do not have ADHD at all. What they really have is an overwhelmed nervous system and a taxed memory system, which makes their attention break down during reading. Think of it as a cup filled to the top, and decoding difficulties cause it to overflow. Parents often think their child is distracted when the brain is simply working too hard to decode when reading.

Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Regulation First Parenting™ expert

Clary Tepper, a licensed psychologist, also warns that it’s important to distinguish ADHD and dyslexia properly — they affect different reading aspects and, thus, should be addressed differently.  

“ADHD affects reading through different brain pathways than dyslexia.”

A common misconception I see among educators (and other professionals) about ADHD and reading is that the reading problems seen in ADHD are the same as those seen in dyslexia. For people with ADHD, reading problems involve working memory, processing speed, and the ability to distinguish relevant from irrelevant details (stimulus discriminability) rather than phonological processing deficits.

Clary Tepper

Licensed psychologist

How ADHD Affects Reading Speed

A July 2025 study in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology found that because ADHD slows the processing speed and contributes to working memory deficits, children with ADHD show poorer reading performance — their brain has to work harder and slower to get through text, which can mean slower reading speed.

However, the CHADD April 2022 article says that ADHD symptoms can have an opposite effect on reading speed — kids rush through the text to prove they can read well. Overall, ADHD can affect reading speed in two ways:

• ADHD rushed reading — kids read too fast, ignoring punctuation and guessing words instead of reading them properly
• ADHD slow reading — kids can’t remember what they’ve just read while moving on to the next sentence, which makes them lose track and slow down to try to understand the text.

In practice, the lack of reading comprehension skill (reading but not processing with ADHD) is a more crucial problem for ADHD readers than speed. And to address this problem, Dr. Eleni Nicolaou, art therapist and creative wellness expert at Davincified, advises matching reading activities to a child’s thinking patterns. 

“Once a child's brain finds something steady to hold onto, they can then clearly understand the story.”

Essentially, the issue for these children lies in finding internal steadiness to hold onto rather than deciphering the written word. When children receive tools that help their minds organize stimuli in a manner consistent with their thinking patterns, reading transitions from exhausting to achievable. Parents begin to see progress faster, children regain confidence in their abilities, and the overall learning process becomes much more motivating to continue.

Dr. Eleni Nicolaou

Art Therapist & Creative Wellness Expert at Davincified

Working Memory and Processing Speed in ADHD Reading

A July 2025 study in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology found that those kids with ADHD who show stronger inattention symptoms also process information more slowly. And a slower processing speed makes it harder for them to hold information in their working memory — the mental space we use to remember what we just read while moving on to the next sentence.

A December 2025 study by Nationwide Children’s Hospital confirms the same pattern — when a child with ADHD processes information more slowly, their brain uses up more mental energy to get through the text, leaving less effort to spend on actually understanding and remembering what they’ve just read.

Together, both studies point to the same conclusion — kids with ADHD tend to experience slower processing speed and poorer working memory, which makes reading feel much harder for such children.

How to Help Children with ADHD Succeed with Reading

To help your child succeed in reading, you can use strategies that include creating a reading environment where kids can read comfortably, breaking text into chunks kids can read separately, highlighting and making notes while reading, using technology and visual support tools, and getting a professional reading tutor.

Create a Distraction-Free Reading Environment

Attention is a valuable asset for kids with ADHD, so try minimizing distractions for them. Make sure the kid has a reading environment where they are comfortable, and no extra items can grab their attention. This way, kids can stay focused on the reading process without shifting focus to something else.

• While setting up a reading spot, remove all the toys, gadgets, food, and unnecessary stationery from the desk and the surrounding area
• Clearly differentiate and organize zones for activities like reading, sports, and leisure
• Whether it’s a space at home or in the classroom, it’s better to choose a spot next to a window or in the corner for good lighting and a low noise level.
• Avoid too bright, contrasting colors in a reading space — they can disrupt a kid’s concentration on reading.

Use Structured and Chunked Reading Techniques

Chunk reading can be a great way to address ADHD difficulty reading. It limits the sessions to short, non-overwhelming sprints that help kids practice the reading skill gently, stick to their comfortable pace, and boost confidence with frequent successful completion of texts.

Jessica Plonchak, an Executive Clinical Director at Choice Point Health also stresses that for kids with ADHD, it’s important to keep the practice small and controllable to help them proceed.

“One of the most effective strategies for children with ADHD is converting reading tasks into short, clear, and structured lessons.”

Many ADHD students make achievable progress when timed reading sprints are designed with movement breaks, visual organizers, and audiobooks to improve overall comprehension. In addition to this, creating a distraction-free environment and using different tools, such as finger trackers, text highlighting apps, etc. also improve their focus.

Jessica Plonchak

Executive Clinical Director, at Choice Point Health

To start reading in chunks, begin with small, easy pieces of text — one paragraph is enough. Don’t rush your kid into completing a chunk of text. Instead, help them understand what they read and reward them when they make progress. If necessary, take a break to let the kid rest for a while and help them make notes.

You can also time these breaks with the help of the Pomodoro technique — taking 5-minute breaks after every 25 minutes of studying. According to the June 2025 study in Behavioral Sciences, the Pomodoro technique is widely recommended for students who struggle with inattention — breaking learning sessions into 25-minute sprints can reduce cognitive overload and help maintain focus.

Make Reading Active: Highlight, Note, and Visualize

Passive reading is just eyes moving across a page, while not actually doing anything, which can be hard for kids with ADHD due to attention deficit. To make reading a more active task, you can give your kid a simultaneous activity to perform while reading to improve attention and anchor working memory. Such activities are also part of reading comprehension strategies.

• Highlight: Ask a kid to highlight the most important parts of the text with one color and the parts they don’t understand with another
• Make notes: Ask a kid to make notes while reading, like leaving questions that arise or summarizing parts
• Use graphic organizers: Use visual tools like story maps, cause-and-effect charts, and character webs to help a kid turn abstract text into a picture they can understand better
• Summarize: After each chunk of reading, ask the kid to tell you what happened in their own words

Use Technology and Visual Support Tools

There are various easily doable and interactive visual support tools and technology to incorporate into the reading process and help your kid with low attention spans. For example, it can be a good idea to draw something connected to the reading or play a short active game before starting the reading practice. As for technology, you can try using audiobooks, text-to-speech apps, and reading tracker apps to make a child more involved and motivated.

The goal of using visual tools and technology is to help lower the pressure on the kid’s nervous system, as Roseann Capanna-Hodge, Regulation First Parenting expert, also believes.

“The best strategies to help kids with ADHD read better always start with regulating the nervous system first.”

A child cannot focus if their brain is struggling to get online. Simple movements such as figure eight hand motions, crossing-midline movements, or even a quick round of jumping jacks settle the nervous system and get the brain ready to learn. Once the brain is calm, then short ten-minute reading bursts, multisensory phonics, and audiobooks paired with print help to amplify reading skills. Time and time again, I have witnessed kids improve reading fluency by adding in consistent movement before and during reading sessions.

Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Regulation First Parenting™ expert

To start with visual tools, you can try reading worksheets with pictures and structured texts. For example, topics in our free reading worksheets are even grouped by specific skills they are aimed at. Frequently included in reading programs for struggling readers, worksheets help children develop reading skills gradually and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Work with a Reading Tutor

Children with ADHD often need extra help to stay focused when they read. Expert tutors can help keep students interested, adjust the content to their attention span, and give them immediate feedback.

A private online reading tutor on our platform understands how the brain of a neurodivergent child works and chooses the approach to keep them interested and focused. Our reading program for kids with ADHD is focused on building an effective and gamified reading comprehension practice for kids in grades K-12 based on their current skills and learning style, while aligning with the U.S state standards. 

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Tips for Parents: Supporting ADHD Readers at Home

Apart from specific strategies, parents can also use effective tips to add to these strategies to help their kids who have ADHD and trouble reading feel more comfortable about reading in a home setting. The key with these tips is to provide support and encouragement to a kid to make them feel safe and motivated to do even better.

Build a Reading Routine with Rewards and Encouragement

It’s always easier to encourage kids to read with a little reward. Giving them a small gift, their favorite snack, or whatever you, as a parent, find appropriate, adds excitement to the reading process. You can also set up specific rules for getting the reward to motivate your kid to read, focus, and work harder.

For example, you can agree that you will give a reward each time your kid finishes reading a paragraph faster or when the frequency of distractions when rereading a piece of text becomes lower. Also consider making the rewards useful rather than just pleasant, like toys that help concentrate, fidget spinners, stress balls, or a Rubik’s Cube. 

Read Together and Talk About the Text

Reading together helps children with ADHD build focus, improve comprehension, and feel supported. Try taking turns reading with your kid, ask questions about the text, and gently guide them through the complicated text parts. Most importantly, stay patient and attentive — your encouragement makes the process easier and more enjoyable.

When reading, it’s also helpful to talk openly with your kid about ADHD and how it works, so they know what troubles they’re experiencing and why. According to Roseann Capanna-Hodge, Regulation First Parenting expert, this self-awareness can be a big part of progress for such kids.

“A powerful support for ADHD readers is teaching kids about their strengths and challenges, as well as how their brain works.”

When children understand why reading feels hard and which tools actually help, they use those tools instead of resisting them. Reading also becomes easier when a child feels calm, confident, and understood. Confidence grows when both the environment and the child’s inner world feel regulated and supported. That is when reading finally starts to click.

Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Regulation First Parenting™ expert

Apart from helping a kid, reading together also gives you a chance to track how your child is doing. Without reading together, it’s hard to understand whether the kid understood the text and remembered something from it. Talking about what you’ve just read helps you see if the kid struggles to comprehend the context, a specific word, or a phrase, and guide them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Adults with ADHD Struggle with Reading Too?

Yes, adults with ADHD can struggle with reading, too. ADHD symptoms don’t disappear as the person grows up, so the condition still affects cognitive functions and, hence, reading abilities even in adults. Based on community-reported experiences, adults with ADHD frequently report difficulty staying when reading, losing their place repeatedly, and needing to re-read text parts multiple times to remember what they’re reading.

What Tools or Apps Help Children with ADHD Read Better?

Tools and apps that help children with ADHD read better include text-to-speech, worksheets, audiobooks, and short, gamified lessons. However, the options can vary depending on your child’s needs. For example, choosing any of these ADHD writing tools can make a big difference in the study process.

How Many Reading Sessions per Week Does a Child with ADHD Need?

A child with ADHD usually needs 3 to 5 reading sessions per week to build and improve reading skills. However, this amount can change depending on your child’s needs. You can also encourage daily reading, but remember that it doesn’t have to be long — you can start with 5 minutes and slowly increase lesson time to 20 minutes.

Should I Get My Child Evaluated Before Starting Reading Support?

Yes, getting an evaluation from a specialist before starting reading support is a good decision. Only a professional can diagnose a child correctly to determine if the reason for reading problems is dyslexia, auditory processing issues, or ADHD, and guide you towards effective targeted support.

Marvi M. Andres

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Marvi M. Andres is that very Brighterly reading tutor who will make your child fall in love with the subject. By showcasing the diversity of text genres, she demonstrates the impact of reading.

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