09/19/2026
Attention to detail. Big picture thinking. Two different profiles, and either one can hand a child a genuine advantage nobody taught them to see.
💙 A note from me: Autism and dyslexia are often talked about as separate boxes, but they can sit together in the same person, sharing sensory sensitivities, attention differences, and that familiar feeling of being different in a room built for someone else. Two different profiles, many shared experiences, and the whole person matters far more than either label on its own.
TWO PROFILES, DIFFERENT, BUT THEY CAN OVERLAP
Understanding strengths, differences and shared experiences.
AUTISM: A DIFFERENT WAY OF PROCESSING PEOPLE, PLACES AND THE WORLD
Social communication differences, understanding social rules, non verbal cues, and back and forth interaction. Sensory processing differences, heightened or reduced sensitivity to sounds, lights, textures, taste or movement. Restricted or repetitive behaviours or interests, stimming, routines, special interests. Need for predictability, routines, clear expectations and preparing for change. Differences in social learning and communication, literal interpretation, different conversation styles. Highly variable language and literacy profiles, ranging from non speaking to fluent. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental profile. It affects how a person experiences and interacts with the world.
DYSLEXIA: A DIFFERENT WAY OF PROCESSING WRITTEN LANGUAGE
Persistent difficulties with accurate and fluent word reading and spelling, decoding, recognising words, spelling accurately. Phonological processing is the best established cognitive risk factor, although dyslexia is heterogeneous and multifactorial. Reading can remain effortful even when understanding, intelligence or spoken vocabulary are strong. Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that primarily affects the development of reading and spelling skills. It is not related to intelligence and can co occur with autism and other neurodivergent profiles.
AREAS THAT CAN OVERLAP
Sensory sensitivities. Attention differences. Executive functioning challenges. Anxiety. Creative thinking. Feeling different. It's not either or. It's both and. And that's okay.
SOME STRENGTHS OF AUTISTIC THINKING
Attention to detail. Deep and focused interests. Pattern recognition. Creativity and unique problem solving. Honesty and strong sense of justice. Different perspective on the world.
SOME STRENGTHS OF DYSLEXIC THINKING
Big picture thinking. Creativity and imagination. Visual and spatial strengths. Problem solving and innovation. Strong verbal reasoning. Resilience and adaptability.
IT ISN'T ONE OR THE OTHER
A child can be autistic, dyslexic, or both, and neither profile cancels the other out or explains it away. Understanding both helps ensure the right support reaches the actual person in front of you.
TRAUMA INFORMED GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
Recognise that reading difficulty and social communication differences can exist together without one explaining the other away. Look for patterns across both profiles rather than assuming everything is just autism or just dyslexia. Celebrate the specific strengths each profile brings, attention to detail alongside big picture thinking, creativity alongside pattern recognition. Support should be individualised and strengths based, built around your child, not a single label.
TRAUMA INFORMED GUIDANCE FOR PROFESSIONALS
Approach autism and dyslexia as distinct but potentially co occurring profiles, assessing for both rather than assuming one explains all presenting difficulties. Recognise shared features, sensory sensitivities, attention differences, executive functioning challenges, anxiety, as areas needing careful, separate consideration. Support strengths based, individualised planning that reflects the whole person, not a single diagnostic category. Understand that dyslexia is unrelated to intelligence and can present even where spoken vocabulary and understanding are strong.
RESEARCH BASE
Research exploring overlaps between dyslexia and other neurodevelopmental differences has found meaningful co occurrence with autism spectrum traits in population based samples, alongside shared features such as sensory processing and attention difficulties (Brimo, Dinkler, Gillberg, Fernell, Bohman, & Miniscalco, 2021). Reviews spanning 25 years of autism and dyslexia research emphasise that both are lifelong profiles with enormous individual variability, meaning diagnosis and support must consider the whole person rather than a single category (Newton, 2013). Broader work on co occurring neurodevelopmental conditions has found substantial symptom overlap between autism, dyslexia and ADHD, reinforcing that co occurrence is common rather than exceptional (Russell, 2013).
Connection over correction. Understanding over expectation. 💙
Different minds. Brighter tomorrows. 🌻
Does your child navigate both profiles, autism and dyslexia, and how have you seen their strengths from each show up together?
Drop a 💙 and share.
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Every share helps occupational therapists, teachers, doctors, SENCOs, and parent carers understand that autism and dyslexia can co occur, each deserving its own understanding and support. Save this post for team training or share it with your community.
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