ADDISS Blog

Philippa Greathead
Speech Language Pathologist
Speech-Language-Learning Centre
Westmead, NSW, Australia

30 June 2025

The child or adolescent with ADHD and learning problems will often present to the Speech Language Pathologist with a range of clinical problems in language that are contributing to the learning disorder.

The types of language problems experienced by children with ADHD are varied and can cover all the modalities of language. Typically problems are seen in:

Syntax:
Disorders of syntax (oral and written grammar) are difficulties using and/or comprehending the structural components of sentences.

Semantics:
Semantic difficulties in language involve problems with word meanings and organization. School problems include difficulties comprehending written and spoken language, poor vocabulary, word-finding difficulties and difficulties using context to help with the comprehension of reading.

Pragmatics:
Pragmatics is the term used for the social use of language – i.e. the ability to use language as a means to interact with others socially or for a specific purpose (e.g. requesting information, expressing feelings, holding a conversation with people of different age levels).

Metalinguistics:
This is the ability to reflect on language objectively – to know and understand that language is a rule-bound code – e.g. humour, multimeaning in words, ambiguity, figurative language (metaphors etc), ability to segment words into syllables or phonemes (sounds).

Related areas of difficulty

Auditory processing:
Children with language problems often have related auditory processing difficulties – particularly in the ADHD population. Problems can be found in the areas of speed of processing, auditory memory, auditory attention, processing of auditory information, auditory analysis and auditory discrimination. Following directions or getting information from reading and listening can be a nightmare for such children.

Metacognition: This is the ability to think about thinking in general. To know what you know and to understand what you need to know in order to learn effectively. Students with difficulties in this area cannot easily deal with the strategies involved in problem solving.

What makes the ADHD child with a language problem different to other children with language problems?
The child with ADHD is more likely to have language processing difficulties than a simple language delay.

There may be no early developmental history of speech and language problems – the language problems may only become apparent as the child progresses through the school system. This is particularly relevant in the clever, even gifted, student with subtle language problems and ADHD.

In particular, the ADHD child with language problems can have auditory processing difficulties such as:

• Short-term auditory memory weakness
• Problems following instructions
• Slow speed of processing written and spoken language
• Difficulties listening in distracting environments e.g. the classroom
• Problems in listening for information when someone is talking or reading expecting them to listen – they may miss out on details, or get the details but be unable to grasp the ‘main idea’
• Getting information from reading – reading comprehension

They can also have language difficulties related to their impulsivity and poor organizational skills resulting in:

• Problems with classroom discourse
• Poor writing skills
• Tangential narratives and conversations
• Word-finding problems – ‘thing, thingy, it, you know’ plus gesture
• Difficulties inferring meaning – ‘looking beyond the obvious’
• Problems with generative language
• Social language problems

Learning styles and ADHD
The student with ADHD is likely to have difficulties with the learning style supported by the school system – that of being a good listener, being able to sit and focus for extended periods of time and of having good reading and oral language skills.

The use of learning styles as a therapeutics and diagnostic tool gives an added dimension to the role of the Speech Language Pathologist working with school-aged children and adolescents.

Considering learning styles broadens the approaches taken in intervention and helps in the development of strategies for the general management of language-related problems.

Children with language difficulties are often unaware of their own thinking and learning processes – they have poorly developed metacognition. They either do not know that there are certain strategies that can be used to help their learning or they use the wrong strategies for their particular learning style.

Analyzing the child’s learning style can give invaluable information to help you understand how best to support the child’s learning. One method of describing that learning style is the Visual – Auditory – Kinaesthetic – Print-Orientated – Interactive (VAK POINT) model developed by Glenn Capelli.

Some common characteristics of these learning styles are:

Visual learners

• Learn best by looking, watching and observing
• Want to see how things are done
• Enjoy poster, visual overhead, colours
• Learn well from videos
• Doodle and draw
• Work well with information mapping systems (e.g. Mind Maps)
• Picture well (visualize) inside their heads

Auditory learners

• Learn well by listening and communicating with others
• Learn through rhythm and rhyme
• Learn from audiotapes
• Have good auditory discrimination for sounds and auditory attack skills for reading
• Learn languages easily

Kinaesthetic learners

• Use their hands and whole bodies to learn
• Create things, make things, pull things apart and rebuild them
• Use their feelings

Print-orientated learners

• Read to learn and for pleasure
• Have good reading comprehension
• Write well and write for pleasure

Interactive learners

• Learn well by interacting with others
• Learn from discussion and dialogue
• Group work and co-operative learning
• Have an ability to lead, follow and be flexible socially

Children learn by their individual learning styles. Teachers tend to teach in a way that complements their own learning style. This is one reason children may learn well with one teacher and not another.

Children with school-based learning difficulties are often deficient in one or more of these learning modalities and need to focus their learning on the area that is their greatest strength – as well as building up the weaker areas.

Typically, the child with ADHD and language problems struggles with the auditory and print-orientated styles of learning. Interestingly, some who struggle with visual learning also have language-based problems – usually related to organization, planning and overall ‘whole picture’ understanding of language-based skills.

Strategies to help children with language processing problems

The ‘pulse style’ approach to learning
One strategy that is useful in dealing with the ADHD child with language processing problems is recommending a ‘pulse style’ approach to learning. This can be applied to any learning task and is a great way to get optimal learning happening.

Teaching to learn styles
If the ADHD student with a language disorder has problems with a particular style of learning e.g. auditory learning, try to work with their most successful learning style, say kinaesthetic, in order to support the weaker style.

For example, a student with weak auditory learning skills and strong kinaesthetic skills benefits from being physically involved in the learning process. If the class if doing a ‘listening type task’ it would be helpful if the ADHD child was demonstrating something or holding something rather than just ‘listening’. It is also very difficult for the poor listener to cope with comments like ‘I am only going to say this once!’ – the added anxiety this causes makes the learning even harder.

Summary
Not all students with ADHD have language problems – and the types of language problems seen in ADHD can also be seen in children without ADHD. However, problems with information processing frequently include language-related difficulties and these have to be dealt with at home, school, socially and in a learning environment.