ADHD and Learning Disorders

This presentation will go into the long history (and changes in terminology ) that reflect the overlap and interactions between learning disabilities and the syndrome of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Less will be described about ADHD than about the ways in which learning disabilities, exemplified by “dyslexia,” have historically been viewed as totally separate from the attention and cognitive control issues attached to ADHD, conjoined in the now-discarded category of Minimal Brain Dysfunction (1966), teased apart by changes in terminology and research but more recently recognized to have significant shared components. The viewpoint will be from that of learning disabilities, emphasizing how these are modified by co-existing ADHD characteristics and how this overlap requires educational adjustments.