It’s important to know that learning disabilities and ADHD present in many different ways across students and contexts. Many of these students experience stigmatization from their peers and teachers who may not understand the why behind their behaviors. A barrier to meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities is a lack of understanding of the behaviors they manifest in the classroom. This is shown to be especially true for students who are Indigenous, Black, Brown, or from under-resourced communities. Students who have historically and systematically been excluded from opportunity too often do not receive an official or accurate diagnosis, which is fundamental to receiving interventions. For example, students who are multilingual may not get diagnosed with a reading disability because the teacher assumes that language is the barrier to their reading success. Students who are Indigenous or Black may be overrepresented as having behavioral challenges, likely due to misinterpretation of cultural differences and behaviors in the classroom. Only when teachers have an understanding of how disabilities can show up across different aspects of a students’ academic, cognitive, and social-emotional behaviors and when they have been prepared with appropriate strategies to work with students can teachers create an environment of belonging where each student can thrive and engage in a robust curriculum.

Learning disabilities and ADHD can have common underlying factors and co-occurrence among disabilities is common. That is, a student with one learning disability may have difficulties in another area, for example a student with ADHD may have difficulty reading due to diminished Attention or Inhibition. Additionally, as learning disabilities and ADHD often co-occur, these learning or attention difficulties may stem from different underlying factors such as Phonological Awareness or a Sleep deficit, which should be addressed separately and more directly. Understanding that specific learning disabilities and ADHD are grounded in many of the same factors that vary for all students including Working Memory, Social Awareness and Relationship Skills, Decoding, etc., and that these factors are tightly intertwined, can empower teachers to select strategies that can effectively support all learners in a strengths-based and inclusive way, knowing that students with specified learning disabilities also will need specific research-based instruction to support them as they overcome their challenge. Strategies that can support students with a specific learning disability or ADHD include providing direct instruction, untimed tests, multisensory phonics, and offering student choice. Through relationship building teachers can recognize and harness students’ strengths, help students recognize their own strengths, and use their strengths to mitigate challenges.  

Understanding learner variability can help disrupt the idea of a one-size-fits-all instructional approach that too often benefits no one. It’s important to know that learning disabilities and ADHD present in many different ways across students and contexts. Recognizing learner variability also helps us understand that even students who are diagnosed with a specific learning disability or ADHD can vary in what accommodations will work best. This is due to the immense amount of variability within learning and attention challenges, which could change over time and development. Just like all students, students with learning disabilities have strengths and challenges across a whole child framework. Designing classrooms and instruction that make all students feel welcome and accepted for exactly who they are and what they bring to the classroom is critical for reaching all learners.