ADHD and Writing Learning Disabilities: Overlapping Disorders and Educational Implications

Abstract

In this review, we discuss the historic evolution of ADHD research up until the present, and explain the actual theoretical models of writing in relation to ADHD and attention. Given the characterization of writing as a recursive process, and in order to show its relationship with attention disorders, examples of applicable writing models are also described. These models contribute to a far better understanding of the findings from empirical studies. Additionally, a review of the empirical research on ADHD and writing conducted in the last decades is presented. The conclusions obtained from this analytical review suggest a lack of empirical studies concerning writing and ADHD. Specifically, this shortfall is even more obvious in those studies that have focused on the relationship among written composition, processes followed by ADHD students during tasks, and the written products they construct. Only a few studies have been carried out in this context, however, they have approached the combined problem in a superficial way without examining it in detail. A review and analysis of the association between ADHD and writing learning difficulties is the most novel and fundamental element with respect to the theoretical contribution we herein present.