Looking Beyond the Lines: Mental Health Co-Occurrences and Future Treatment Considerations for Dyslexic Populations

Dyslexic students can present complex profiles with associated co-occurrences. One co-occurrence of interest involving dyslexic students is mental health co-occurrences such as anxiety, self-concept difficulties, depression symptoms, and difficulties with peers. While some research has begun to explore the connections between dyslexia and mental health co-occurrences, there has been limited research in potential treatment interventions for students with dyslexia and mental health co-occurrences. The purpose of this narrative review was to identify existing research studies exploring interventions targeting dyslexic students who have mental health co-occurrences and to highlight areas for future research.

Structured and multifaceted search procedures were utilized to identify research studies investigating the effects of interventions that improved academic performance and remediation of mental health co-occurrences in dyslexic students.

Eleven studies were reviewed. Information on study location, participant demographics, study design, intervention features, and outcomes were included. The selected studies contained similarities and differences primarily involving study design and intervention features. Intervention features were divided into either directly addressing mental health morbidities or improving reading and writing skills to indirectly address the student's co-occurrences. Most findings indicated significant improvements involving dyslexia-related difficulties and reducing co-occurrence effects. However, factors such as study designs, small sample sizes, and scarcity of articles highlighted research gaps in this topic area.

Future investigations into treatment interventions that address mental health co-occurrences in dyslexic students are recommended. Additional high-quality studies are needed to address current research gaps and guide the development of optimal, evidence-based practices for this population.