Which Is It? A Parent's Comparison Guide to Learning Difficulties
This page is not a diagnostic tool. Trouble with reading, writing, math, movement or attention can look alike, and can come together. Coming together is not the same as one causing the other. No study we hold tests home signs for telling them apart. Check hearing and vision, find what is hard, and keep teaching.
TL;DR
- This page is not a diagnostic tool. No study we hold tests home signs for telling dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD apart.
- A child who will not settle to the work is showing you a behavior. Attention is only one of the things that produces it.
- In the research we hold, learning and attention difficulties come together more often than chance. Coming together is not the same as one causing the other.
- In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first.
- As of September 2026, only a formal evaluation can get a US child an IEP or 504 plan. A diagnosis alone does not. If you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, get that checked too.
This is not a diagnostic tool
This page is not a diagnostic tool. Nothing on this page rules anything in or out. It shows where to look, and who can help you find out.
You may have searched for a chart that compares the signs. We do not give one.
Why the same behavior can come from different places
A child who will not settle to the work is showing you a behavior. Attention is only one of the things that produces it.
In our experience, what everyone sees is often a long way from what is causing it.
The same thing you see can come from different places. A child who will not start the page may find the reading hard. The room may be too loud to hear the teacher. Or the child may be tired.
Why there is no chart of signs here
Five words run through this page: dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD. No study we hold tests home signs for telling these five apart. So we do not give a chart of signs.
We hold no measurement of how often one of these is mistaken for another.
Some say a reading, writing or math difficulty is often mistaken for ADHD. The research we hold does not show that. It shows they come together more often than chance.
This page compares what each word points at, and where to go next.
More than one can come together
One large twin study looked at dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD together (van Bergen and colleagues, 2025). It used Dutch twins and their brothers and sisters, tested at ages 7 and 10.
Each difficulty was set by a cut-off the study chose, not a diagnosis. In that study, a child with one was more likely than other children to have a second. Most had only one.
In that study, the genetic risks for the three partly overlapped. The study did not point to one of the three causing another. The authors name two limits. Twin studies rest on assumptions. And the tests may have been too far apart to see one cause another.
That is a finding about many children.
Coming together is not the same as one causing the other.
More than one can come together in one child. When more than one area is hard, we look at more than one.
If reading is the worry
Dyslexia is a name for a pattern of trouble reading words, spelling, or both. Other things can look the same from across the table. Reading that was never taught step by step can look the same. If that is the only cause, the trouble is in the teaching, not the child.
Have hearing and vision checked.
Our page on whether it is dyslexia or something else goes through the others.
If writing is the worry
As we read the two words, dyslexia starts from reading and spelling words. Dysgraphia starts from writing. Spelling sits in both.
Several studies we hold found writing trouble and reading trouble together, in different kinds of samples. They counted different things, so no one rate applies to all children. The research we hold does not settle whether one causes the other.
Our page on dysgraphia and dyslexia has more.
If math is the worry
Math anxiety and dyscalculia are two different things, and they can come together.
A word problem asks for reading as well as math. Read the same problem aloud. If the answer is now right, the reading was at least part of the trouble. It is one sign, not an answer on its own.
Our page on dyscalculia and the overlaps has more.
If movement and coordination worry you
DCD is short for developmental coordination disorder. In the UK and Australia, dyspraxia is an everyday name for DCD (NHS, 2023; healthdirect, 2025). Dyspraxia is not another name for dysgraphia.
In our view, if movement worries you as well as writing, tell the teacher and your child's doctor. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.
Our page on dyspraxia and DCD has more.
If it looks like attention
Before you decide it is attention, look at four things. Sleep. Whether hearing and vision were checked recently. Worry about the work. A school skill that is not yet automatic.
When reading, writing or math still takes effort, that effort is one more job running at once. It competes with the work on the page. So a child who cannot yet read the page can look inattentive at it.
We hold no measurement of how often any of these four explains what you see.
Our page on attention and focus has more.
If your child loses you in a busy room
Listening and attention can look alike. They overlap, but we see them as different. Some children cannot pick the teacher's voice out of the room. Other children cannot keep their attention on the task. From the front of the class, both can look inattentive. One thing to notice is what changes when the room goes quiet. No sign we hold has been shown to tell the two apart.
Our page on processing difficulties has more.
What a professional evaluation looks at
As of September 2026, a US school evaluation must cover every area tied to the concern. As of September 2026, that can include vision, hearing and motor skills. As of September 2026, no single test may decide it on its own.
As of September 2026, what you have seen is required evidence in a US school evaluation. As of September 2026, US federal rules require the school to gather information from the parent. As of September 2026, the school must write it down and consider it carefully.
As of September 2026, only a formal evaluation can get a US child an IEP or 504 plan. A diagnosis alone does not. If you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, get that checked too.
If the work itself is too hard, see someone who works on that school skill. If the avoidance or the mood is the thing, see someone who works with children's mental health. If anything looks physical, take a medical route.
As of September 2026, US law names a category called specific learning disability. As of September 2026, its definition lists trouble with listening, thinking or speaking. As of September 2026, it also lists reading, writing, spelling and math calculations. As of September 2026, the definition names dyslexia as an example. The category is how the paperwork is organized. It is not a word about your child. As of September 2026, that category leaves out problems caused mainly by a vision, hearing or motor disability. As of September 2026, that category also leaves out problems caused mainly by intellectual disability or emotional disturbance. As of September 2026, that category also leaves out problems caused mainly by environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage. As of September 2026, a group decides whether one of these applies to a child. As of September 2026, the group is made up of qualified professionals and you, the parent.
Some reasons are not about the child's ability. As of September 2026, these rule a child out when one is the deciding factor. One is a lack of appropriate teaching in reading or math. That rule asks whether the child was taught. It does not ask whether the child is able. Another is that the child is still learning English.
What you can do now
In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first. Find the skill that is not built yet, and practice it.
You may be told to wait and see. Our position is to put support in place now, not to wait and see. No study we have tests wait-and-see as a plan for a learning difficulty. So we would not tell you to wait.
Write down what you are seeing, with dates and examples. Whichever route you take, that record is what you will be asked for. Nobody else can write it.
A diagnosis describes where your child is today. It does not predict where they will be after a year of the right kind of practice.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Schoolwork well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
- Extreme upset about schoolwork.
- Complete avoidance of school or learning.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
When a parent raises a concern, describe what you see. Do not confirm or deny a label. A line like "He manages the first three problems and the rest come back blank" gives a family something to act on.
One sentence for an email home: "She does well on the first part of a task and stops partway through. I wanted you to know what I am seeing."
Key Takeaways
This page is not a diagnostic tool. Nothing on this page rules anything in or out.
No study we hold tests home signs for telling dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD apart.
Have hearing and vision checked.
In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first.
As of September 2026, only a formal evaluation can get a US child an IEP or 504 plan. A diagnosis alone does not.
Write three dated lines: what you saw, in what task, on what day. Then write one sentence you could say to the teacher tomorrow. It should describe what you saw without naming it. You are not looking for a name. You are looking for what is hard.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
A set of questions you answer about what you see at home. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
A set of questions you answer about what you see at home. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
A set of questions you answer about what you see at home. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
Common questions from parents
How do I tell dyslexia from ADHD?
No study we hold tests home signs for telling dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD apart. So we do not give a chart of signs. More than one can come together in one child. In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. As of September 2026, only a formal evaluation can get a US child an IEP or 504 plan. A diagnosis alone does not. If you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, get that checked too.
Can a child have more than one?
Yes, more than one can come together in one child. One large twin study looked at dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD together (van Bergen and colleagues, 2025). It used Dutch twins and their brothers and sisters, tested at ages 7 and 10. Each difficulty was set by a cut-off the study chose, not a diagnosis. In that study, a child with one was more likely than other children to have a second. Most had only one. That is a finding about many children. The study did not point to one of the three causing another. The authors name two limits. Twin studies rest on assumptions. And the tests may have been too far apart to see one cause another. When more than one area is hard, we look at more than one.
Could it be ADHD when it is really a learning difficulty?
Some say a reading, writing or math difficulty is often mistaken for ADHD. The research we hold does not show that. It shows they come together more often than chance. We hold no measurement of how often one of these difficulties is mistaken for another. A child who cannot yet read the page can look inattentive at it. So check reading, writing and math too.
Can your screener tell me which one it is?
No. Each of our free screeners is a set of questions you answer about what you see at home. We have one each for dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. No study we hold tests home signs for telling dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD apart. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
Does this page rule anything out?
No. Nothing on this page rules anything in or out. It shows where to look, and who can help you find out.
Is there a chart that compares them?
You may have searched for a chart that compares the signs. We do not give one. No study we hold tests home signs for telling dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, DCD and ADHD apart.