How to engage children with ADHD in reading

He found it hard to focus and concentrate and school was a huge challenge for him. 

Once he was diagnosed, thankfully we got some answers. But aged 8 he still could not read, as nothing engaged him to keep still long enough to learn what the funny squiggles and lines represented. He saw no purpose in reading. 

I loved books. I loved reading. I wanted to pass on this love to my son. We went to libraries. I bought tons of books. But nothing clicked. It all felt a bit schooly and a chore. 

Then we discovered Mr Biff The Boxer, with a funny character that was a bit cheeky and suddenly he got it. He loved the humour and the silliness of the story. The illustrations were great  –we’d found the holy grail. I hurriedly bought the whole series of Allan Ahlberg books as I wanted to get him into books whilst we were on a roll. 

I can’t say this ignited the flame. But it certainly taught him to read and opened the door to literacy. And it showed him that books could be fun, and something positive.  

This is a perfect example of what our young people with ADHD need. Their brains are busy and full of thoughts, ideas and opinions.

My son explained that his eyes couldn’t keep still long enough to focus on the words.The things that help are interest and excitement. 

If our children with ADHD see a purpose, they will be able to calm their busy brain and focus long enough to read. 

My advice is to start with their interests, what engages them, what are their passions? 

This may mean an instruction manual to construct a robot. Or a recipe for strawberry cheesecake. Or an explanation of how the moon shines at night. Or a fairytale with dragons and imps. Or a play about their football team. Or poems about the seaside, a reminder of a happy holiday. Or a magazine that feels nice to hold. Or a quiz that will amuse the whole family.  

When I taught back in the 1990s I introduced ERIC – Everyone Reading In Classroom. This was a special time when everyone grabbed something they wanted to read. It was a calm, peaceful time and threw us individually into separate worlds to experience the magic of words. No graded books or levels. Just choosing something that interested them. 

This technique would still work. But there are other ways to enjoy reading. We live in the modern technological age of the 21st century and we should embrace this brave new world. There are apps and gadgets available that may help teenagers with the huge bulk of reading required at secondary school. An ADHD brain will respond to what is new and motivating. Boring means they will check out. So use onscreen readers, large print, dyslexia font, bullet points, lists, colour coding.  Make reading fun, a bit cheeky, full of purpose and interest. 

Reading does not have to be a dry, dull book or text. It is whatever excites, motivates, instructs or engages. Find out what works for the young person you work with or care for. If they’re given a choice of format or genre or device, they will feel empowered to discover for themselves what they enjoy.  

Our young people with ADHD have amazing brains and the world of books can open up a world of opportunities and experiences. 

Soli Lazarus is a former teacher with 30 years teaching experience. Her adult son has ADHD. Soli now supports families with children and teens with ADHD and delivers training to schools. Soli is the author of bestselling book ‘ADHD Is Our Superpower’.