How to Read, Retain, and Focus When You Have ADHD

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsReading Issues in KidsHow to Help Your ChildReading Issues With Adult ADHDReading Comprehension TipsFrequently Asked Questions

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Table of Contents

Reading Issues in Kids

How to Help Your Child

Reading Issues With Adult ADHD

Reading Comprehension Tips

Frequently Asked Questions

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ADHD is a form ofneurodivergencethat can sometimes make reading more difficult. For both children and adults with ADHD, staying focused while reading can be difficult. It can also be challenging to comprehend and retain the information that was read.

Reading tasks may feel like they take forever, especially if you are finding that you have to read and re-read (and re-read again) to process the information accurately.

Problems with reading can be frustrating and may lead people to worry that they willfail in schoolor struggle in the workplace. Fortunately, there are many tried-and-true strategies to help overcome reading problems.

This article discusses strategies to help children and adults with ADHD focus while reading and to better remember what they have read, These may benefit people without ADHD, too.

Reading Issues in Children With ADHD

ADHD can contribute to reading comprehension issues in children with ADHD. Since reading plays such a pivotal role in a child’s life, particularly at school, these issues can also impact a child’s grades and self-esteem.

Characteristics of ADHD that can contribute to reading issues include:

RecapDifferences in how children with ADHD process information, learn, and engage with the world can lead to problems with reading. This can include characteristics such as inattention, differences in working memory, and difficulty sitting still while reading.

Recap

Differences in how children with ADHD process information, learn, and engage with the world can lead to problems with reading. This can include characteristics such as inattention, differences in working memory, and difficulty sitting still while reading.

Strategies That Improve Reading Comprehension

Treatment approaches that focus on helping kids manage their ADHD traits has been found to help reading skills.Traditional treatments typically rely on stimulant or non-stimulant medications. Other strategies that can help improve reading skills include:

There is no one size fits all approach. Experimenting with different strategies and being supportive can help you child figure out what reading strategies work best for them.

Reading Issues for Adults With ADHD

Adults with ADHD also face some of the same issues with reading. While research on reading issues for adults with ADHD is limited, several issues could be at play.

You may have trouble identifying and remembering the main points of what you’ve just read. You may simply zone out and become sleepy while reading.

How to Remember What You Read

To help yourself to stay focused and attentive so that you can remember what you’ve read, try one or more of these strategies. Experiment to see what helps you.

RecapTactics such as reading aloud, minimizing distractions, taking notes, and highlighting key information can be helpful. Experiment with different strategies to figure out what works best for you.

Tactics such as reading aloud, minimizing distractions, taking notes, and highlighting key information can be helpful. Experiment with different strategies to figure out what works best for you.

Frequently Asked QuestionsThe speed at which you read a book can differ for many reasons, including how interested you are in the book that you’re reading. Strategies like using a bookmark or ruler to keep your place can help you focus on each line of text and get through the book with less distraction.Reading is a struggle for adults and children with ADHD alike. Many children with ADHD have difficulty with reading comprehension,while both adults and kids with ADHD tend to lose interest, miss details and connections, lose track of where they are on the page, and become easily distracted.Having a co-occurring reading disability such asdyslexia, which can make it difficult to learn to read, spell, decode, and recognize words, is also common for both adults and children with ADHD.

The speed at which you read a book can differ for many reasons, including how interested you are in the book that you’re reading. Strategies like using a bookmark or ruler to keep your place can help you focus on each line of text and get through the book with less distraction.

Reading is a struggle for adults and children with ADHD alike. Many children with ADHD have difficulty with reading comprehension,while both adults and kids with ADHD tend to lose interest, miss details and connections, lose track of where they are on the page, and become easily distracted.Having a co-occurring reading disability such asdyslexia, which can make it difficult to learn to read, spell, decode, and recognize words, is also common for both adults and children with ADHD.

Reading is a struggle for adults and children with ADHD alike. Many children with ADHD have difficulty with reading comprehension,while both adults and kids with ADHD tend to lose interest, miss details and connections, lose track of where they are on the page, and become easily distracted.

Having a co-occurring reading disability such asdyslexia, which can make it difficult to learn to read, spell, decode, and recognize words, is also common for both adults and children with ADHD.

How to Focus With ADHD

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Plourde V, Boivin M, Forget-Dubois N, et al.Phenotypic and genetic associations between reading comprehension, decoding skills, and ADHD dimensions: evidence from two population-based studies.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2015;56(10):1074–1082. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12394Kofler MJ, Spiegel JA, Soto EF, Irwin LN, Wells EL, Austin KE.Do working memory deficits underlie reading problems in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2019;47(3):433–446. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0447-1Denton CA, Tamm L, Schatschneider C, Epstein JN.The effects of ADHD treatment and reading intervention on the fluency and comprehension of children with ADHD and word reading difficulties: A randomized clinical trial.J Sci Stud Read. 2019:72-89. doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1640704Hume LE, Allan DM, Lonigan CJ.Links between preschoolers' literacy interest, inattention, and emergent literacy skills.Learn Individ Differ.2016;47:88-95.doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.006Paloyelis Y, Rijsdijk F, Wood A, Asherson P, Kuntsi J.The genetic association between ADHD symptoms and reading difficulties: the role of inattentiveness and IQ.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010;38(8):1083-1095. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9429-7Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK.Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis.J Learn Disabil. 2018 Jan/Feb;51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170Clinton V.Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Res Reading. 2019;42(2):288-325. doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12269Friedman LM, Rapport MD, Raiker JS, Orban SA, Eckrich SJ.Reading comprehension in boys with ADHD: The mediating roles of working memory and orthographic conversion.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45(2):273–287. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0171-7Langer N, Benjamin C, Becker BLC, Gaab N.Comorbidity of reading disabilities and ADHD: Structural and functional brain characteristics.Hum Brain Mapp. 2019;40(9):2677–2698. doi:10.1002/hbm.24552

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Plourde V, Boivin M, Forget-Dubois N, et al.Phenotypic and genetic associations between reading comprehension, decoding skills, and ADHD dimensions: evidence from two population-based studies.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2015;56(10):1074–1082. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12394Kofler MJ, Spiegel JA, Soto EF, Irwin LN, Wells EL, Austin KE.Do working memory deficits underlie reading problems in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2019;47(3):433–446. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0447-1Denton CA, Tamm L, Schatschneider C, Epstein JN.The effects of ADHD treatment and reading intervention on the fluency and comprehension of children with ADHD and word reading difficulties: A randomized clinical trial.J Sci Stud Read. 2019:72-89. doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1640704Hume LE, Allan DM, Lonigan CJ.Links between preschoolers' literacy interest, inattention, and emergent literacy skills.Learn Individ Differ.2016;47:88-95.doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.006Paloyelis Y, Rijsdijk F, Wood A, Asherson P, Kuntsi J.The genetic association between ADHD symptoms and reading difficulties: the role of inattentiveness and IQ.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010;38(8):1083-1095. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9429-7Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK.Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis.J Learn Disabil. 2018 Jan/Feb;51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170Clinton V.Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Res Reading. 2019;42(2):288-325. doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12269Friedman LM, Rapport MD, Raiker JS, Orban SA, Eckrich SJ.Reading comprehension in boys with ADHD: The mediating roles of working memory and orthographic conversion.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45(2):273–287. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0171-7Langer N, Benjamin C, Becker BLC, Gaab N.Comorbidity of reading disabilities and ADHD: Structural and functional brain characteristics.Hum Brain Mapp. 2019;40(9):2677–2698. doi:10.1002/hbm.24552

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Plourde V, Boivin M, Forget-Dubois N, et al.Phenotypic and genetic associations between reading comprehension, decoding skills, and ADHD dimensions: evidence from two population-based studies.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2015;56(10):1074–1082. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12394Kofler MJ, Spiegel JA, Soto EF, Irwin LN, Wells EL, Austin KE.Do working memory deficits underlie reading problems in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2019;47(3):433–446. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0447-1Denton CA, Tamm L, Schatschneider C, Epstein JN.The effects of ADHD treatment and reading intervention on the fluency and comprehension of children with ADHD and word reading difficulties: A randomized clinical trial.J Sci Stud Read. 2019:72-89. doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1640704Hume LE, Allan DM, Lonigan CJ.Links between preschoolers' literacy interest, inattention, and emergent literacy skills.Learn Individ Differ.2016;47:88-95.doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.006Paloyelis Y, Rijsdijk F, Wood A, Asherson P, Kuntsi J.The genetic association between ADHD symptoms and reading difficulties: the role of inattentiveness and IQ.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010;38(8):1083-1095. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9429-7Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK.Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis.J Learn Disabil. 2018 Jan/Feb;51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170Clinton V.Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Res Reading. 2019;42(2):288-325. doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12269Friedman LM, Rapport MD, Raiker JS, Orban SA, Eckrich SJ.Reading comprehension in boys with ADHD: The mediating roles of working memory and orthographic conversion.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45(2):273–287. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0171-7Langer N, Benjamin C, Becker BLC, Gaab N.Comorbidity of reading disabilities and ADHD: Structural and functional brain characteristics.Hum Brain Mapp. 2019;40(9):2677–2698. doi:10.1002/hbm.24552

Plourde V, Boivin M, Forget-Dubois N, et al.Phenotypic and genetic associations between reading comprehension, decoding skills, and ADHD dimensions: evidence from two population-based studies.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2015;56(10):1074–1082. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12394

Kofler MJ, Spiegel JA, Soto EF, Irwin LN, Wells EL, Austin KE.Do working memory deficits underlie reading problems in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2019;47(3):433–446. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0447-1

Denton CA, Tamm L, Schatschneider C, Epstein JN.The effects of ADHD treatment and reading intervention on the fluency and comprehension of children with ADHD and word reading difficulties: A randomized clinical trial.J Sci Stud Read. 2019:72-89. doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1640704

Hume LE, Allan DM, Lonigan CJ.Links between preschoolers' literacy interest, inattention, and emergent literacy skills.Learn Individ Differ.2016;47:88-95.doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.006

Paloyelis Y, Rijsdijk F, Wood A, Asherson P, Kuntsi J.The genetic association between ADHD symptoms and reading difficulties: the role of inattentiveness and IQ.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010;38(8):1083-1095. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9429-7

Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK.Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis.J Learn Disabil. 2018 Jan/Feb;51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170

Clinton V.Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Res Reading. 2019;42(2):288-325. doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12269

Friedman LM, Rapport MD, Raiker JS, Orban SA, Eckrich SJ.Reading comprehension in boys with ADHD: The mediating roles of working memory and orthographic conversion.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45(2):273–287. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0171-7

Langer N, Benjamin C, Becker BLC, Gaab N.Comorbidity of reading disabilities and ADHD: Structural and functional brain characteristics.Hum Brain Mapp. 2019;40(9):2677–2698. doi:10.1002/hbm.24552

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