Schedule of Events | Symposia

Examining the impact of ADHD subtype on reading ability and brain function in school-aged children with Dyslexia

Poster Session E - Monday, March 31, 2025, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Alexander J. Kaminsky¹ (ajkaminsky@mghihp.edu), Rebecca A. Marks^1,2, Hanna K. Thesken², Annie L. Cardinaux², Karolina Wade², Rachel T. Norton¹, Adriana M. Azor¹, Alysa E. Doyle³, Ellen B. Braaten³, John D. E. Gabrieli², Joanna A. Christodoulou^1,2; ¹Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, ²Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ³Massachusetts General Hospital

Background: In youth with co-occurring neurodevelopmental challenges, understanding the complex interplay of diagnoses is essential for tailoring effective interventions and improving outcomes. Dyslexia and ADHD, two of the most common childhood disorders, commonly co-occur. Prior work shows that reading scores and reading brain systems do not differ for children with dyslexia alone versus those who also have ADHD. To further this idea, we examine whether ADHD subtype may differentially impact reading scores and/or reading brain systems in dyslexia. Methods: Participants were 76 children (grades 2–5) with dyslexia, 42 of whom also had ADHD (20 Inattentive; 22 Combined). Participants completed 30 clinical standardized tests across domains including reading, math, and cognition. Functional MRI during visual word rhyming was conducted. ANCOVAs (correcting for age) compared Dyslexia only, Dyslexia + ADHD-IN, and Dyslexia + ADHD-C groups, with FDR correction for multiple comparisons. Results: The three groups demonstrated no significant differences across the 30 measures, including reading, math, executive function, and non-verbal IQ. Functional MRI during visual word rhyming revealed no significant differences in activation patterns between the Dyslexia only, Dyslexia + ADHD-IN, and Dyslexia + ADHD-C groups. Conclusions: Although ADHD and Dyslexia commonly co-occur, reading performance does not appear to be affected when children are impacted by both challenges; this finding persists across the Inattentive and Combined subtypes of ADHD.

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