ADHD and Dyslexia Support in Dutch Schools: A Practical Guide

A Dutch school telling an expat parent "we support children with ADHD" can mean almost anything — from a teacher who informally checks in more often, to structured pull-out sessions with a specialist, to a full classroom aide funded by the regional consortium. The difference between these outcomes depends on how well you understand the system before your child is already struggling.

This is what support for ADHD and dyslexia actually looks like inside Dutch schools, and how to make sure your child gets what they need.

What the Dutch System Calls "Basic Support"

Every Dutch mainstream school publishes a Schoolondersteuningsprofiel (SOP) — a public document outlining what the school can and cannot support. Under Passend Onderwijs, the 2014 framework governing special education, each school defines its own baseline interventions for common profiles including mild ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia.

This is your first document to read. Request it before enrolling. If the SOP describes generic "differentiation" for learning differences but nothing specific to ADHD or dyslexia, ask direct questions about what that looks like day-to-day.

Mild ADHD and dyslexia are typically handled under basisondersteuning — basic support funded from the school's general operating budget. This might include:

• Extended time on tests
• Alternative seating or preferential placement
• Access to text-to-speech software (Kurzweil and Sprint Plus are commonly used in Dutch schools for dyslexia)
• Differentiated homework or assessment formats
• Regular check-ins from the Intern Begeleider (IB), the school's internal support coordinator

For more intensive needs — a dedicated classroom aide, specialized reading intervention, or pull-out sessions — the IB must apply to the regional Samenwerkingsverband (SWV) for additional funding. Whether that application succeeds depends on the region, the available budget, and how the child's needs are documented.

ADHD Medication: The Dutch Pathway Is Different

If your child is already on ADHD medication from your home country, do not assume this continues automatically. The Netherlands routes all pharmacological ADHD treatment through a specific pathway.

Your first step is the family doctor (huisarts). The huisarts evaluates the child and issues a referral to specialized youth mental healthcare (Jeugd-GGZ). Under the Dutch Youth Act, psychological and psychiatric support for children under 18 is funded and managed by the local municipality — not through standard health insurance. Waitlists for Jeugd-GGZ assessments routinely run several months.

Once admitted into the Jeugd-GGZ system, a GGZ psychiatrist or a specialist at a clinic such as ADHDcentraal can prescribe medication and oversee cognitive behavioral therapy. Private clinics can speed up diagnosis but come with direct costs; check what your insurer covers and whether the provider is contracted.

The mandatory deductible (eigen risico) for 2026 is €385, which must be paid before insurance covers treatments.

Dyslexia Diagnosis in the Netherlands

Dutch schools follow a specific protocol for diagnosing dyslexia. A child who is struggling with reading is first monitored through the classroom, then referred internally to the IB for a more structured assessment. If the evidence meets criteria, the IB can refer for a formal dyslexia assessment (dyslexieverklaring) conducted by an orthopedagoog (educational psychologist).

Once a formal dyslexia declaration is issued, the child is entitled to specific accommodations — including extended time during the national doorstroomtoets transition test at age 12, which determines secondary school tracking. This is particularly important for expat children: if a dyslexia diagnosis is not formalized in the Dutch system before this test, the child loses access to accommodations during the single most consequential academic assessment of their primary years.

A dyslexia diagnosis from your home country does not automatically transfer. The school will typically want a Dutch assessment to justify accommodations.

The ADHD-Tracking Collision

At age 12, Dutch students are sorted into secondary school tracks — vocational (VMBO), general (HAVO), or pre-university (VWO). This schooladvies (school advice) is determined primarily by the classroom teacher's recommendation and the doorstroomtoets score.

For children with ADHD or dyslexia who have not had accommodations formalized, this test is a high-stakes risk. An expat child who is genuinely capable of HAVO or VWO but whose ADHD means they underperform on timed, structured tests — without accommodations — can end up incorrectly placed in VMBO. That placement is difficult to reverse.

Getting accommodations formally documented before the transition test is not optional. It is urgent.

When Basic Support Is Not Enough

If the school's basisondersteuning is insufficient and the IB applies to the SWV for extra funding without success, or if a child's ADHD or dyslexia is severe enough to require a more specialized setting, the next step is a Speciaal Basisonderwijs (SBO) placement — smaller classes, specialist teachers, more time to complete primary school.

SBO access requires a Toelaatbaarheidsverklaring (TLV) — a formal declaration issued by the SWV. The school must initiate this application; parents cannot apply directly. Once a TLV is issued, it is typically valid for one to three years and can be renewed.

Private Assessment: When to Consider It

Municipal waitlists for psycho-educational evaluations are long. Many expat families opt for private assessments from English-speaking orthopedagogen in Amsterdam, The Hague, or Rotterdam. A comprehensive private assessment typically costs between €1,600 and €2,000.

A high-quality private report gives the IB concrete, well-documented evidence to support a funding application to the SWV. It is often faster than waiting for the municipal route and produces a more detailed report that directly serves the OPP process.

Global Education Testing operates in Amsterdam and specializes in assessments tailored to international school curricula.

How to Work With Your School

The Intern Begeleider is the relationship that matters most. This person manages your child's case, drafts the Ontwikkelingsperspectief (OPP — the Dutch equivalent of an IEP), and decides when and how to apply for SWV funding. Approach that relationship collaboratively rather than adversarially.

When reviewing the OPP's handelingsdeel (action plan), look for specificity: "extended time for tests" is a concrete commitment; "individualized approach" is not. You hold instemmingsrecht — the absolute legal right of consent — over this section. Do not sign it until the interventions are spelled out clearly.

The Netherlands Special Education Blueprint covers the full OPP review process, how to request specific accommodations within the Dutch consensus model, and what to do when the SWV denies a funding request — written in plain English for families who are new to how the Dutch system works.

See more Netherlands guides →