ADHD and Autism Assessment Pathways
When dyslexia may not explain the whole picture
Defining Dyslexia specialises in dyslexia and specific learning difficulty assessment. Where attention, communication, sensory experiences or emotional regulation suggest something wider, Mark can help you think it through and, with your permission, introduce you to a trusted independent diagnostic provider.
ADHD and autism assessments are not carried out by Defining Dyslexia. They are delivered independently by a neuroaffirming diagnostic partner with its own qualified team and its own clinical decisions.
Our approach
The right support—not simply a service
Every person who contacts Defining Dyslexia brings a different history, different concerns and different reasons for seeking answers. Our approach begins by listening carefully and considering what would genuinely be most helpful.
Sometimes a dyslexia assessment is the appropriate next step. Sometimes the wider picture suggests that another pathway should be considered first. In other cases, dyslexia may be present alongside ADHD, autism or another area of need.
The priority is helping you reach the right support. If another assessment pathway appears more appropriate, Mark will explain this honestly and help you understand your options. Where you choose to continue with a trusted diagnostic partner, he can provide a personal introduction and handover with your consent.
This is not simply a signpost to another website. It is a supported transition to people Mark knows and trusts, so you are not left to navigate the next stage alone.
Where people start
Could it be more than dyslexia?
Many people come to a dyslexia assessment having noticed more than reading and spelling. These are some of the areas that lead families and adults to wonder whether a wider assessment could be helpful.
Attention and focus
Losing the thread part way through a task, drifting during longer explanations, or finding sustained concentration exhausting rather than simply difficult.
Impulsivity and restlessness
Acting or speaking before thinking it through, a constant need to move, or finding it very hard to wait.
Sensory differences
Strong reactions to noise, light, textures, clothing or busy environments, or seeking out particular sensory experiences.
Communication and social interaction
Finding conversation, group settings or unwritten social rules tiring or confusing, or preferring very direct communication.
Emotional regulation
Feelings that arrive quickly and intensely, difficulty recovering after an upset, or noticeable anxiety around change.
Organisation and executive functioning
Planning, starting, sequencing and finishing tasks, keeping track of belongings, time and deadlines.
Experiences like these do not automatically indicate ADHD or autism. Many have other explanations, including tiredness, anxiety, the demands of a particular environment, or the effort of coping with an unidentified learning difficulty. They are simply a reason to ask the question.
The wider picture
Why might more than one profile apply?
Dyslexia, ADHD and autism are distinct neurodevelopmental differences. However, they can occur together. Sometimes one profile does not fully explain a person’s experiences, which is why the whole developmental and learning picture matters.
Dyslexia
- persistent reading fluency difficulties
- spelling difficulties
- phonological processing differences
- slower or less accurate written work
ADHD
- difficulty regulating attention
- impulsivity
- differences in activity levels
- difficulty starting or completing tasks
Autism
- social-communication differences
- sensory differences
- a strong need for predictability
- focused interests or repeated patterns
Where the profiles meet: organisation, working memory and task completion (dyslexia and ADHD); language, literacy demands and communication (dyslexia and autism); executive functioning, sensory and emotional regulation (ADHD and autism); and overwhelm, fatigue, confidence and masking (all three together).
The diagram shows three overlapping circles. Dyslexia includes possible experiences such as persistent reading fluency difficulties, spelling difficulties, phonological processing differences and slower or less accurate written work. ADHD includes difficulty regulating attention, impulsivity, differences in activity levels, and difficulty starting or completing tasks. Autism includes social-communication differences, sensory differences, a strong need for predictability, and focused interests or repeated patterns.
Where dyslexia and ADHD overlap, organisation, working memory and task completion may be affected. Where dyslexia and autism overlap, language, literacy demands and communication come together. Where ADHD and autism overlap, executive functioning and sensory and emotional regulation are shared territory. Where all three overlap, a person may experience overwhelm, fatigue, reduced confidence or masking. These experiences are not diagnostic by themselves.
Dyslexia and ADHD
Organisation · working memory · task completion
A person may show a specific pattern of reading, spelling or phonological difficulty alongside broader attention and executive-function differences across everyday life. Neither profile alone may explain the full picture.
Dyslexia and autism
Language · literacy demands · communication
Dyslexia may explain a specific literacy and phonological profile. It would not usually explain longstanding social-communication differences, sensory needs or a strong need for predictability. Autism may explain those wider experiences without fully explaining the literacy pattern.
ADHD and autism
Executive functioning · sensory and emotional regulation
ADHD may explain persistent differences in attention, impulsivity or activity regulation. Autism may better explain social-communication patterns, sensory experiences and a need for predictability. Some people meet the diagnostic criteria for both.
Dyslexia, ADHD and autism together
Overwhelm · fatigue · confidence · masking
A person may have a measurable dyslexic literacy profile alongside developmental evidence of both ADHD and autism. Fatigue, overwhelm, reduced confidence or masking may reflect the combined impact. However, these experiences are not diagnostic by themselves.
Recognising some of these experiences does not confirm a diagnosis.
Many of these experiences can have different explanations. Dyslexia, ADHD and autism can only be identified through appropriate assessment by suitably qualified professionals. The purpose of this diagram is to explain why a wider assessment pathway may sometimes be helpful.
Talk to Mark about the right pathwayA sensible first step
How Mark can help
Mark will listen properly to what you are noticing, look at the information you already have, whether that is school reports, previous assessments or simply your own observations, and help you identify a sensible next step.
Sometimes that step is a dyslexia assessment. Sometimes it is a wider pathway. Sometimes it is neither, and practical support in school, at university or at work is the more useful place to start.
What Mark cannot do is tell you whether ADHD or autism is present. That requires an appropriate assessment by professionals qualified to carry it out. What he can do is help you understand the options, so the decision is an informed one.
Independent provision
A trusted diagnostic pathway
Defining Dyslexia works alongside a trusted neuroaffirming diagnostic provider that offers specialist ADHD, autism and combined assessment pathways for children and for adults.
Assessments are completed by suitably qualified professionals, with a multidisciplinary approach where that is required. The provider considers strengths, needs and lived experience alongside difficulties, and aims for a process that is respectful, thorough and neuroaffirming.
The provider is independent. It runs its own screening, sets its own requirements, and decides whether an assessment is clinically appropriate. Further screening or a professional referral may be needed. Defining Dyslexia has no part in those clinical decisions.
How it works
A personal handover
The point of a handover is simple. You should not have to start again, explain everything from the beginning, or work out on your own who to approach next.
You talk it through with Mark
You describe what you are noticing, at home, at school, at university or at work. Nothing is rushed and there is no obligation attached to the conversation.
Mark explains why another pathway may be worth considering
If the picture suggests something wider than dyslexia or another specific learning difficulty, Mark will say so plainly and explain his reasoning.
You are given clear information about the provider
You are told who the independent diagnostic provider is, what they offer and how their process works, before you decide anything.
Nothing is shared without your explicit consent
No personal information leaves Defining Dyslexia unless you have specifically agreed to it, and you decide what is passed on.
Mark makes a personal introduction
With your permission, he introduces you directly and shares the agreed relevant information, so you are not left starting again from scratch.
The provider carries out its own screening
The diagnostic provider completes its own checks and decides whether an assessment is clinically appropriate, and which pathway fits best.
Staying connected
A personal connection—not simply a signpost
Mark works closely with the neuroaffirming diagnostic partner and is part of its wider professional network. This means the relationship is more than a name passed across or a link to another website.
Depending on the pathway and support required, you may continue to see Mark at different points in your journey. Where another specialist takes the lead, Mark can still provide a personal introduction and share agreed information with your consent.
Although each professional remains responsible for their own work and clinical decisions, the aim is to create a more connected experience. You should not have to feel that you are starting again alone.
What the words mean
What neuroaffirming assessment means
A neuroaffirming assessment does not treat the person as broken or deficient. It looks at how someone thinks, learns and experiences the world, and takes that seriously as information rather than as a list of faults.
In practice that means strengths are recorded alongside difficulties, the person's own account of their experience is given weight, and recommendations are framed around what genuinely helps in real settings.
It does not mean difficulties are minimised. Where something is hard, it is described honestly, because that is what makes support and evidence useful. Individual experiences differ widely, and no single description fits everybody.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
01Can Defining Dyslexia diagnose ADHD?
No. Defining Dyslexia assesses dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties. An assessment may describe traits associated with attention difficulties where they are relevant to learning, but that is a description, not a diagnosis. A formal ADHD diagnosis is made elsewhere by suitably qualified professionals.
02Can Defining Dyslexia diagnose autism?
No. Autism is not diagnosed by Defining Dyslexia. Where autism may be worth exploring, Mark can discuss that openly with you and explain the independent pathway available.
03Can someone be dyslexic and also have ADHD or be autistic?
Yes. It is common for more than one neurodevelopmental difference to be present in the same person. Identifying one does not rule out another, which is why the wider picture is worth considering.
04Will I be told who the diagnostic provider is?
Yes. You will always be told who the provider is, and given information about their pathways, before you decide whether to proceed. Nothing happens without your knowledge.
05Will my information be shared automatically?
No. Nothing is shared unless you give explicit consent, and you agree in advance what information is passed on.
06Do I have to use the recommended provider?
No. There is no obligation whatsoever. You are free to research other providers, speak to your GP, or take no further action. Mark will still answer your questions either way.
07Can Mark make a referral after a dyslexia assessment?
Where it seems appropriate and you agree, Mark can make a personal introduction after an assessment and share relevant agreed information. The receiving provider then decides whether an assessment is clinically appropriate.
08What happens if I am not sure which assessment I need?
That is a very common starting point. A short conversation is usually enough to work out whether a dyslexia assessment, a wider pathway, or simply some practical advice is the sensible next step.
09Are pathways available for both children and adults?
Yes. The independent provider offers ADHD and autism assessment pathways for children and for adults, and combined autism and ADHD pathways may be available where appropriate.
10Does a personal handover guarantee that an assessment will be offered?
No. An introduction is not a guarantee. The provider carries out its own screening and decides whether an assessment is clinically appropriate. Further screening or professional referral requirements may apply.
No obligation
Take the next step
If you are unsure which assessment fits your situation, a short conversation is usually the easiest place to begin. You will speak to Mark directly.