When Learning Differences Become Life‑and‑Death

By Kelly VanZant, Creative Director at Neuro Navigation

Some stories stay with you long after the final chapter closes.

One of mine begins in a high school classroom, sitting beside a peer who—like me—was navigating the world with dyslexia and ADHD. We shared the same accommodations, the same frustrations, the same whispered jokes on the playground about how we didn't fit in, and in the classroom, we were made to feel like our brains were not capable to comprehend.

But our paths diverged.

I graduated.

He didn’t.

Three years after he left school, he died of an overdose.

I’ve carried that loss with me ever since. And now, working in neurodiversity advocacy, I understand something I didn’t have the language for back then: his story wasn’t an anomaly. It was a pattern, one that research has been quietly documenting for decades.

This blog is not about blame. It’s about recognition. It’s about naming what too often goes unnamed: the connection between unsupported learning differences, school disengagement, and later vulnerability to substance use and overdose.

Children with learning disabilities—especially those with dyslexia and ADHD together face a constellation of risks that compound over time. These risks are not inherent. yet are the result of environmental failures, unmet needs, and chronic misunderstanding.

1. ADHD and Substance Use: A Well‑Documented Link

The American Academy of Pediatrics has long recognized that ADHD significantly increases the likelihood of developing substance use disorders. Their clinical guidance notes that ADHD and substance use are “inextricably intertwined,” especially when symptoms go untreated or unsupported.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics – ADHD and Substance Use

2. Dyslexia and Emotional Vulnerability

Dyslexia alone does not cause addiction, but repeated academic failure, shame, and social stigma can create emotional wounds that increase vulnerability. A 2019 article in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction highlights that individuals with dyslexia may be at increased risk of substance misuse, influenced by socioeconomic stressors and coping patterns.

Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction – Dyslexia and Substance Abuse Risk

3. Learning Disabilities and Substance Misuse: A Systemic Issue

Public Health England’s review on learning disabilities and substance misuse underscores a troubling reality: people with learning disabilities are overrepresented among those who struggle with alcohol and drug misuse, yet they often face barriers to treatment and early intervention.

Source: Public Health England – Substance Misuse and People with Learning Disabilities

4. The Dropout Connection: When School Becomes a Breaking Point

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Longitudinal Transition Study‑2 (NLTS2) found that young adults with disabilities—including LD and ADHD—have higher rates of substance use, particularly when they disengage from school or drop out.

Source: U.S. Department of Education – NLTS2 Findings on Substance Use

When I think about my neurodivergent high school peers, I don’t think about statistics. I think about kids who are bright, creative, funny, and deeply misunderstood. Specifically remembering the peer who passed away, I reflect on his smile, how he tried so hard to fit in, often being the class clown, but now knowing inside, he was really sad and suffering.

The research helps us understand the broader truth:

• ADHD increases impulsivity and risk-taking.

• Dyslexia increases exposure to repeated academic failure.

• School systems often fail to provide adequate support.

• Dropout removes structure, community, and protective factors.

• Substance use becomes a coping mechanism for pain that was never named.

At Neuro Navigation, we work every day to shift the narrative around neurodiversity—from deficit to difference, from stigma to support. And real-life tragic stories like this one remind me that this work is not abstract. It is urgent. RIP CM