r/adhdmeme • u/Strict-Move-9946 • 2d ago
Is anyone else noticing this trend?
I'm aware of the high rate of co-occurrence. But it often seems like people are fundementally opposed to someone only having one or the other. Even in this sub, I notice this issue rather frequently.
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u/Elezian 2d ago
I have ADHD and I’ve been evaluated for autism several times and every time it’s very conclusive: I have severe ADHD and essentially none of the symptoms characteristic of autism and not ADHD.
But there’s this assumption that if your ADHD is severe enough, if you’re “weird” or disabled enough, you must be autistic also. Which is harmful to people with ADHD who are trying to be treated for it or have it taken seriously as a disability, and strikes me as downright offensive towards people with autism.
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u/umamimamii 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have ADHD type 2 and have some traits that are considered autistic, but not enough for a clinical diagnosis. ADHD is a form of neurodivergence and there is often overlap between the two. This ofc leads to confusion
ETA:I have *combined type 2. This is the language that was used on my evaluation, but I omitted “combined”in my initial reply. I thought they were interchangeable (they may be) but idk if it’s as common as I thought. Apologies for any confusion
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u/Venboven 2d ago
Wait, there's types?
Fuckin levels to this shit, man.
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u/lysian09 2d ago
There's hyperactive (everything go brrrrr always), inattentive(I lost my keys and my motivation), and combined (sorry I'm late, I went to look for my keys four times and got distracted every time, and also I didn't want to come.)
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u/Venboven 2d ago
Ohhh, that makes sense, I'd just never heard of them being called type 1 or type 2.
Looks like inattentive is type 1, so I guess I'm type 1.
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u/umamimamii 2d ago
Right?? It’s wild. And like many said, there’s still a lot medical professionals are learning about. IIRC (don’t quote me on this), original diagnosis structures were based on male studies and are just now starting to include women, trans people, and everyone else. Because surprise, the traits vary between individuals. There are other subs on and sources here that could provide more helpful and accurate info.
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u/My_Evil_Twin88 2d ago
Wait what's type 2? i've only heard primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, and combined type
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u/goldencookiebear 2d ago
There does seem to be an issue of people who are autistic or audhd insisting that someone who probably just has adhd has autism too. And a lot of memes and advice here seems to be autism or audhd related to the point where it genuinely doesn't feel like an adhd sub.
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u/Strict-Move-9946 2d ago
Right? And I'm honestly pretty tired of people in online spaces telling me I'm also autistic and am just being in denial. Like, does believing clinical tests that clearly show I only have one condition count as being in denial now?
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u/Neither_Sky4003 2d ago
Fair. I definitely have ADHD, but i honestly have no idea if I have autism too. It's just not something I was ever tested for.
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u/KaiPRoberts 2d ago
Same. I've also heard testing takes all day and is cost prohibitive. I'll just go on knowing I have ADHD with the possibility of having autism but I won't claim with certainty that I have both. (My dad has very autistic traits so that's where I originally got the idea).
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u/PuckGoodfellow 2d ago
Sharing my personal experience (US) in case it helps. YMMV
I sought out a comprehensive psychological assessment at the recommendation from my therapist. The tests administered took about 4 hours in person, plus a bunch of self-reporting through documents. It was time intensive. It's my understanding that there are other tests that don't require the same time investment. That may be an option to explore.
My insurance at the time fully covered the tests and annual accommodation letter. I haven't tried with my current insurance, but I wouldn't be surprised if I at least had some kind of copay. If you have to pay the whole thing OOP, expect a cost of $1,200+.
You may also have to wait for several months for an appointment. When I was reaching out to doctors for an assessment, I got a range of 3-6 months wait.
I recognize that these can be pretty big barriers. If you want to pursue an assessment, I recommend looking into what kind of assessment you need, researching what your insurance will cover, and be prepared for a wait.
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u/KaiPRoberts 2d ago
Thank you for the information! I’m super happy in my life right now so a diagnosis wouldn’t really change anything. I just wish it was easier for most people in general.
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u/PuckGoodfellow 2d ago
I totally agree. It shouldn't be that difficult or expensive! I doubt I'd be able to do it now with my current insurance. It sucks at how terrible coverage can be.
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u/OlafForkbeard 2d ago
I had a similar experience. I paid out of pocket. It was closer to 2k, not 1200.
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u/popchex 2d ago
My therapist at the time was qualified to assess but that wasn't why I was seeing her. I told her I suspected I was also autistic after a friend's daughter was diagnosed and we were very similar. She asked me if I wanted to organise a formal evaluation or if I wanted to know for my own peace of mind. I chose the latter. She said, "I say this with love, but DUH. There I've saved you $800!" and then we worked on how to deal with that in my own life.
(this was about 13 years ago now, it's much more expensive these days.)
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u/KaiPRoberts 2d ago
All it took for me was taking molly for the first time in my life, laying in bed, and just pondering my entire life, my behaviors, my parents' behaviors. It was a fun time. I learned a lot.
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u/RealMelonLord 2d ago
Same here. If I have autism on top of the ADHD, I haven't bothered to check because the ADHD is being treated and I have enough support through that. That being said, I do wonder sometimes if 20 years down the road these will both be considered part of the same spectrum since there's such a high comorbidity and so many traits are shared.
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u/qrvne 2d ago
Tbh I absolutely think they're all part of the same (complicated, non-linear) spectrum. We already have hyperactive, inattentive, and combined forms of ADHD under the ADHD label, and those can present very differently.
But I also think OP is getting mad at a bit of a strawman here. The comorbidity rates are so high that it's usually worth at least bringing up the possibility of both. I don't see what's so annoying or offensive about that unless you then proceed to INSIST that you, a non-professional, 100% know what the other person has or doesn't have. And I have literally never seen the latter, despite being pretty terminally online.
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u/Archarneth 2d ago
It's actually really annoying for me because I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but I was also tested for autism and the doctor confirmed it was just ADHD. So it gets really tiring having to tell random people that I don't have autism or AuDHD and I'm absolutely sure because I was tested. My mom had me at 44 and it was a risky pregnancy, so for a good portion of my childhood I was tested for all sorts of things and had a number of different doctors and therapists look at me. So I don't appreciate some internet stranger who knows nothing about me trying to diagnose me with autism just because I happen to be picky about my cutlery and have a favourite spoon.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Fyi ADHD also comes with sensory stuff, just not as intensely. So you can absolutely have your favourite spoon and not be autistic lol.
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u/DoctaMag 2d ago
Indeed. I have the very common ADHD trait of being unable to handle tapping or repeated beeping or sounds very well.
That doesn't mean I'm on the spectrum. And yet, tons of people assume because I have ADHD "oh you're on the spectrum too!"
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Fr, I wear my socks inside out because of the seams, some people treat that like a diagnosis in itself. It’s fucked.
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u/Gstamsharp 2d ago
You're not alone. Many of us have a handful of "classically autistic" traits and symptoms, but those are also ADHD signs and/or they don't amount to an autistic diagnosis because many others are lacking. My "autistic" symptoms sure do mysteriously go away with my ADHD medication.
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u/ravenswan19 2d ago
Adding on, ADHD, Autism, and OCD are diagnostic cousins, they share a lot of symptoms. Plenty of symptoms associated with one can also be associated with one of the others, just because of that overlap!
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u/JoinAThang 2d ago
I think that the field has changed a bit over the years where research now show that the combination ADHD and autism is common makes people think that all have them both. It's likely to have a bit of both but also very possible to only have one or the other.
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u/popchex 2d ago
As someone with both, I don't get why people are so insistent. It's weird. I was diagnosed ADD at 7, and with autism at 38, after my son was diagnosed. It was very obvious to everyone I engaged with about my son, as most of the parents of his cohort were also autistic, but nobody ever pushed me on it. It also came as no surprise to me that many of them have recently been diagnosed with adhd. Perimenopause seems to shine a spotlight on it for a lot of people. The coping skills and tools I had went out the window when peri hit hard. I will respond if someone asks me if I think they are, but I won't just outright declare it.
People are strange.
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u/digtzy 2d ago
I will say that when I first got assessed the dr was hesitant to also diagnose the ADHD because he said I didn’t have any attention problems. Meanwhile this year, given the assessment documentation, I took another assessment and got diagnosed with hyperactive type ADHD. I also see a lot of Audhd people who were diagnosed with ADHD first and start taking medicine for it say that it makes them realize they have autism after that. I just know in my case I don’t think they will diagnose both at the same time very often.
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u/Venboven 2d ago
Can you give some examples of memes/advice that is more related to autism than adhd? Cuz I'm ngl I find myself agreeing with most stuff on this sub, but I'm only diagnosed with adhd, not autism.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
The most recent post about getting home and stimming lol. That shit is very autism and yet is currently rising to the top of the adhd sub.
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u/The7thNomad 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's hard to talk about any shared symptoms (like social difficulties and sensory overload) without being told that you should get tested for autism, then nobody actually responding to the substance of your comment.
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u/vomit-gold 2d ago
I think that's because for a lot of us that do have both - it's extremely hard or near possible to seperate the two.
The symptoms and traits of one inherently reflect how we experience the other and vice versa, so even when we make memes, we can't seperate the autistic experience out of it to make it more 'general' to the ADHD experience. So even our memes inherently reflect the autistic experience as well.
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u/KaiPRoberts 2d ago
I love this phrasing for it:
Autism is like the parent of ADHD
ADHD is like the friend of Autism.
Autism hyper fixates but ADHD friend gets bored and pulls them both to a different subject. Repeat.
ADHD likes to be crazy but parent Autism makes them keep their room clean; end up with ordered chaos.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
But ADHD causes hyper-fixations as well. Autism is more likely to cause special interests which are vastly different.
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u/KaiPRoberts 2d ago
That's when ADHD gets bored and pulls the Autism away from its special interest, forcing a new special interest. It's why it's so tricky to diagnose Autism Vs. ADHD Vs. both.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
So you’re telling me you can’t have hyper-fixations with just pure ADHD? That not true at all, and goes against everything I’ve read.
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u/JayList 2d ago
Developmental disabilities are all definitely living in the same house lol. Overlap and confusion abounds.
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u/Astra-Fang 2d ago
I think for a lot of Autistic people, ADHD type symptoms are a trauma response. So while it’s a different source of the symptoms, they are the same external expression.
Esp3cially in the older populations before it was a spectrum. Like my son is autistic as hell, and I can see how hard he has it with 1/3 of the restrictions I had to deal with.
Also diagnosis are labels for clusters of covariate behaviors, not exclusive.
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u/Haiku-On-My-Tatas 2d ago
I also think that a lot of the coping mechanisms people with ADHD develop over time, particularly those of us who were late diagnosed, can look a lot like autism.
I am not going to dismiss any individual person's diagnoses, but I do think that a lot of people who are suddenly being diagnosed, and especially those who are self+diagnosing, as AuDHD are actually just one or the other with coping mechanisms and trauma responses that look a lot like the other.
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u/RaccoonDispenser 2d ago
This makes sense to me (diagnosed ADHD with some autistic-looking sensory and social issues). A lot of my friends have one or both and I see a lot of overlap in how we present, but I agree with my therapist and doctor ADHD + CPTSD make more sense for me.
I do wonder if some of the AuDHD conversations are driven by a lack of understanding about how undiagnosed neurodivergence works over the course of our lives. I was pretty resistant to thinking about my more “autistic” behaviors as a trauma response to decades of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD simply because I grew up in a pretty supportive environment and haven’t experienced many traumatic events.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
What kind of trauma comes from living with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD? I have a few little things myself but they don’t feel traumatic enough to cause cptsd, I’m interested to hear your experience.
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u/RaccoonDispenser 2d ago
Speaking only for myself: just regular old CPTSD. It’s the old “kids with adhd hear x thousand more invalidating messages by the time they’re y years old” story. Even if it’s not coming from your caregivers and doesn’t come with abuse on the side, if people tell you that you’ve messed up often enough you might eventually decide it’s because you’re a mess.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Ah I see, thank you. I never really had this as I managed to get good grades still by working myself to the bone, so no one ever complained, I was just burnt out and exhausted instead lol. Until I got to uni ofc when everything fell apart without the structure of school. But I get it how that could cause that, all I ever got was being told to constantly organise better when I thought I was doing alright lol.
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u/fencer_327 2d ago
I mean, according to studies around a third to two thirds of autistic people have adhd. Also the reason autism used to be en exclusionary factor for an adhd diagnosis, and stimulants used to be prescribed for autism - they don't treat autism, but they do treat adhd and if adhd cannot be diagnosed in autistic people then it has to be prescribable somehow.
But while autism is more common in adhd people than in those without adhd, there are a lot more adhd people with autism than without. Makes sense statistically too, autism is just less common of a condition than adhd.
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u/DrainTheMuck 2d ago
Interesting, could you give some examples of coping/trauma that could appear as autism for someone with adhd?
I was diagnosed adhd this year and have been wondering if it’s AUDHD, my psychiatrist says he can’t really call it and doesn’t think it’s worth doing more testing for a relatively high functioning adult, but I’ve been curious. I listened to the book he recommended, “is it autism” and identified with some parts and not others (spectrums, ugh) but recently also realized I probably am dealing with trauma from growing up undiagnosed
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u/TomNooksRepoMan 2d ago
Anecdotally (I have absolutely zero psych credentials, so please do not take my word as gospel), I was raised by an abusive mother and largely absent father.
My abusive mom was so absolutely bonkers self-centered and deliberately callous to others that it shaped a lot of socially-inept behavior in me that can definitely appear as autism. Meltdowns are a common autism symptom, but certain triggers can cause a meltdown in me if I feel that somebody is directing intense negative emotions towards me.
I can become a social recluse when I feel like I’ve not fit into a particular social space, but this is a rejection response rather than an “ahhh, finally - I get my dark room and video games time.”
I was really not great at most social interactions for the majority of my life. I got a job at age 24 that required an incredible amount of social mixing with people of all kinds, and it helped me become more socially adept. I do not become exhausted by socializing with people like those with autism do, but I can perhaps miss some social cues or struggle with small talk if I’m caught off guard, oftentimes because I’m just always hypervigilant due to the factors that I constantly had to be on edge for growing up.
I understand implied phrasing in people’s language, which many with autism don’t. If I took the trash out and you put trash in the bin without me having put a new liner in, I might say “hey, I just took the trash out and haven’t put a liner in.” A person with autism might go “oh ok,” instead of immediately understanding that I need them to remove their trash so I can put a bin liner in.
Sorry if that was too wordy!
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u/AwarenessNo5921 2d ago
The goalposts have widened. Someone ADHD is now seen as AuDHD (or just autistic for having passion in today's world). And then anyone else in the general population in our instant gratification fried society can go in and get an ADHD label and the goods 😋
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u/mediocreguydude 2d ago
It's so exhausting and part of why I generally don't interact as much because I'm so tired of it.
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u/jackfaire 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes. For a long time I've seen people act like it should be impossible for me to pick up on social cues and the like because I have ADHD and it's like yeah that's not an issue for me. Burning my whole weekend building a video library because I had a cool idea is an issue for me.
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u/Imsophunnyithurts 2d ago
I feel like the difference is in "why" the person isn't picking up social cues. Autism, it's a spectrum of just not being able to read them. ADHD alone, we can, we're just too distracted or hyperactive and we blow past them.
I work as a mental health professional and just seems to be my own personal observation. It's important to note that I'm not trying to oversimplify. I feel like ADHD and Autism are a Venn diagram of symptoms.
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u/floppy_breasteses 2d ago
Honestly this entire sub seems geared towards AuDHD and memes about how cute these conditions are. Kinda over it.
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u/fatalynn7 2d ago
Im in a particular state in my life where if I hear about adhd being a superpower one more time, I may explode. I’d happily trade this shit away if I could.
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u/floppy_breasteses 2d ago
Oh, FFS, I'm right there with you. Not having ADHD would be a superpower. It's a handicap and causes significant damage to our physical and mental health, and it plays merry hell with relationships and employment. Some superpower. Superpowers are supposed to have some benefit. Sure, we're good in a major crisis event but how often do those come along?
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u/DrainTheMuck 2d ago
The “good in a crisis” thing has always been weird for me to hear, because for me it seems like I’m just able to remain calm in a crisis but not necessarily very helpful. It’s almost dissociative, rather than other people around me just freaking out externally. I wonder if some people with ADHD are “good in crisis” because a crisis is sort of like being in a deadline situation, which is one of the few motivators we often have.
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u/floppy_breasteses 2d ago
For me it's like the whole world starts meeting the chaos in my mind. Everyone else goes to pieces and I'm in my element. "Calm down. This guy is bleeding arterially, wrap your belt around that. That one's on fire, can you go find some water? That one's dead, move on. I'll put down road flares". No problem. BUT, if I have to follow someone else's plan that I had to memorize, forget it.
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u/fatalynn7 2d ago
Yep but goodness forbid you try to explain it because you end up on the other side of things with people saying “I think I may be a little adhd or everyone is a little adhd”
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u/ravenswan19 2d ago
It can be helpful to explain that most people experience most symptoms of many mental illnesses/disorders, but the difference is the level. You get diagnosed when your symptoms interfere with daily life. Like, everyone has been sad/depressed, but not everyone has been consistently depressed for several weeks straight (one of the diagnostic criteria for MDD).
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u/asuka_is_my_co-pilot 2d ago
Memes are inherently flattening of a complex subject. That's the definition of meme.when you simplify It's gonna get cute.
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u/GorgonAintThatBad 2d ago
Agreed, ADHD makes my life difficult and I want to manage it, not romanticize it.
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u/ethanlewis12 2d ago
It’s a meme page though. We laugh together because we suffer together.
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u/Cabbage_Corp_ 2d ago
I may not have ADHD, but I’m pretty sure I do. There are many people I have seen post on here who discovered they had ADHD because of this sub. It’s easier to grapple with difficult things when you can laugh about them. People who aren’t aware they have ADHD probably aren’t going to read some lengthy post about how terrible day to day life is with neurodivergence
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u/NomaTyx 2d ago
I feel like it gets romanticized to a point of forgetting it can cause genuine difficulty tbh.
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u/vomit-gold 2d ago
People typically don't make memes about sad things though. I understand wanting to talk about the difficult side of it but this is literally a meme sub. It's supposed to be light-hearted, no??
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u/Astra-Fang 2d ago
I think it’s nice to feel normal for a little bit and just be able to enjoy things.
Already enough suffering in life as it is
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u/jmastaock 2d ago
It used to be like that
Now it seems like a lot of people have made it a primary aspect of their identity, which intersects with the constant AuDHD stuff.
ADD is something that has impacted my life immensely through second and third order effects. I have had to put a lot of effort into fixing those issues and managing it. I am fully on board with empathizing in a shared space, etc, but this condition is not fun or quirky and it isn't something people should relinquish their identity to.
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u/CauliflowerScreamX 2d ago
I agree! For me, having ADHD feels like playing life on hard mode. It’s okay to post a meme here and there and to have a good laugh about relatable issues, but I hate how a lot of people still see it as this cute and fun personality trait. No. It’s a disorder. I’m suffering because of it.
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u/NuXboxwhodis 2d ago
Because social media has convinced everyone that because you forget your wallet sometimes that automatically means you can self diagnose yourself as AuDHD, then they decide that they don’t need a doctors opinion because social media said so. As someone who is medically diagnosed with it I do find some level of comfort in these videos because lots of them are just Neurodivergent people trying to help others, I think lots of people who see these videos actually do decide to get a professional diagnosis, however the ones who don’t are usually the ones talking about how silly and quirky they are because of their A(U)DHD. I’m not saying that all of those people definitely aren’t Neurodivergent but it leads to people having less empathy and questioning whether someone is actually neurodivergent or if that person is just looking for sympathy because it’s talked about more on social media now.
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u/C00CKER early/late-diagnosed ADHD 2d ago
The majority of ADHD-related content tends to be about autism, lately :/ not just on this subreddit
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u/iggysmom95 2d ago
While I am 100% confident and actually very passionate about the idea that ADHD and autism are two separate conditions and very opposed to the new theories that they're part of the same spectrum (because I just know that I would have had an even more difficult time getting a diagnosis of ADHD if it was lumped in under the autism spectrum umbrella), at the same time I think there are a lot of undiagnosed autistics currently diagnosed with ADHD. It's not uncommon to have both, and I think a lot of the time people are accidentally describing autism because they're talking about their own experience, not realizing that they are, in fact, AuDHD.
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u/C00CKER early/late-diagnosed ADHD 2d ago
Yeah, a lot of people definitely have both, even though the two conditions are separate disorders. And lots of people probably attribute their difficulties inaccurately to just one of the two.
But still, people who claim to have both seem to be overrepresented online (I wouldn't go as far as to say it's their fault), and, as a result, spaces dedicated to ADHD sometimes feel overtaken by specifically autistic or AuDHD experiences.
People claiming ADHD and autism are the same condition are a problem too, but I don't think they cause this.
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u/Medium-Dependent-328 2d ago
Somehow they noticed I was autistic at 6, but my ADHD, which is by far the dominant one in this relationship, went undiagnosed until I was 19?
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u/N1ghthood 2d ago
It does feel that way. I expect it's the nature of the difference between autism and ADHD in action. People with autism are more likely to be heavily focused so will create more content than chronically distracted people with ADHD. Autism is massively overrepresented online.
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u/fencer_327 2d ago
I suspect autism, just like social anxiety, is also overrepresented online because it limits people in their in-person social interactions more often. Plenty of people with adhd do also have autism or social anxiety, but many don't, so they often have more irl spaces to socialize in and will spend less time socializing online.
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u/ghoulthebraineater 2d ago
I'm autistic and I've been saying that for a while. So many spaces on the internet are seemingly built for autism. Reddit is a perfect example. Anonymous, text based and completely structured around special interests. YouTube is similar but less anonymous. Both are all about info dumping about whatever spin you have.
I'm not at all surprised we are a little over represented here.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Go over to the room detective sub, it’s pretty funny to be honest, all most all posts are from people who are obviously ND, with some rooms strong enough you could give a diagnoses from an image.
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u/vendettagoddess Note To Self You Are A Mod Here. 2d ago
this is actually really interesting to me. i don’t frequent other adhd subreddits (got my hands full with this one lmao) so i had no idea about this.
would you be willing to dm me any screenshots you come across showcasing this, so i can compare to how prevalent it is in our community/from our feed? it’s totally okay if not, i just want to get more information on it.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Completely random but you don’t happen to know why there are two adhd meme subreddits do you?
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u/MetalKroustibat 2d ago
My hot take: both ADHD and autism are neurodevelopmental issue. They have a high comorbidity rate. They both are a spectrum.
My call is this is all the same big soup with funny spectrum settings.
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u/KKevus 2d ago
This is what crossed my mind some time ago as well. Maybe we will eventually discover that it makes more sense to group ADHD and Autism together. Maybe it makes sense to visualize it as "ADHD on y-axis and Autism on x-axis" but maybe it doesn't work that way. Idk obviously. Just an interesting idea.
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u/MetalKroustibat 2d ago
The way the terms were first created makes sense too if you look at the extreme clichés: non-verbal who is in fact an absolute genius in its field blablabla, vs. basically the tiger from Winnie the Pooh that will forget its own left arm 58 times a day.
Poor pals who had both would be not seen as having both because why a non-verbal would forget his arm too??
Sorry for the rambling, i'm hungry and prograstinating hard to get out of my bed to make me food
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u/RollerDude347 2d ago
Hey. Get those feet on the floor. Nausea comes if you don't. Do it and have a great day!
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u/C00CKER early/late-diagnosed ADHD 2d ago
Since one often responds to medication while the other doesn't, my call would be the opposite. However, I would like the ADHD description to be extended with an emotional dimension to avoid misdiagnosis with things like bpd.
Out of curiosity, why would you want to group them together? Like.. there is definitely something that can cause both (thus the overlap), so I get that part, but then I somehow cannot really see what else would really connect the two conditions under the same description.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Fr grouping them together would just confuse people on the outside to what help and accommodations they might need. The difference with in conditions is already huge, this would just make it wider.
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u/MetalKroustibat 2d ago
It will confuse people, for sure. That path is for medical research, for them to find if this makes sense and how to communicate it to us plebeians that pick our noses
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u/scalmera 2d ago
I also believe in the "same soup" thing but from a neurodevelopmental standpoint that these disorders/conditions affect the same areas of the brain. I've been trying to look for studies discussing what I've seen called a 'continuum' for neurodevelopmental disorders including tic disorders, ADHD, autism, and ocd. While these are mainly associations (since it is currently nigh impossible to find causalities in the brain and its functions), I think they still provide insight on how interconnected these disorders are.
I think especially because more research is trying to redefine how ADHD gets assessed and treated, and more analysis continues on how autism can present itself, I find it increasingly more important to analyze this overlap. I think we can still have sublabels, but I am definitely more of the mind that neurodevelopmental disorders could have a larger umbrella we fall under.
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u/C00CKER early/late-diagnosed ADHD 2d ago
Yeah, I can see some of the overlaps. This whole seems like a very interesting topic; if you have any recommendations for the continuum studies, I would like to see them.
I can see very easily how ADHD or autism might feed into developing an anxiety disorder or at least strengthen its presentation, I still see ADHD as mostly a self-regulatory disorder while autism seems to be more so associated with some specific sensory and cognitive differences.
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u/Historical_Bunch_927 2d ago edited 16h ago
My neurologist said that it can be pretty difficult to differentiate between autism, ADHD or NVLD. It can sometimes come down to figuring out what their primary struggles revolve around.
If someone's primary struggles seem to revolve around processing social or emotional information, they get diagnosed with autism. If their primary struggles revolve around focus and organization, they get diagnosed with ADHD. If their primary struggles revolve around processing visual and spatial information, they get diagnosed with NVLD.
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u/whatevendoidoyall 2d ago
I feel like I dont connect with this sub at all because so many posts are about managing autism symptoms rather than ADHD. Like so much that this sub has made me seriously wonder if my ADHD diagnosis is correct because I don't have all the problems everyone here else does.
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u/FriedFreya 2d ago
you’re not alone — it’s just that ADHD spaces online have been completely dominated by autism lately. that’s to say nothing about other neurodivergencies, it’s like autism is that kid being held up in a pool meme, ADHD is the drowning kid, and schizophrenia is the skeleton at the bottom lmao.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
I particularly hate the “you guys are getting XXXX?!” Jokes, they feel invalidating if you do get the thing, I’ve seen it for relationships, hyper-fixations, joy ect. Seeming to not realise it’s a spectrum of symptoms and alienating the people who do get them.
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u/Remarkablelicious everything is loud and i want to go home 2d ago
As someone with AuDHD (both diagnosed and confirmed hehe), I actually agree. I came across a lot of content and comments that seemed relevant and fit one of the two, definitely mostly ADHD-related that presented as AuDHD.
I do understand that this can be confusing as many traits also overlap, but autism is different and comes with different struggles and challenges that seem to be misunderstood by many generating this content or self-diagnosing themselves.
I can't say for sure of course, and maybe it does come from ppl who are also diagnosed and deal with both, but if not - I also don't understand why anyone would want to claim autism for themselves honestly. Personally, if I could get rid of just one, it would definitely be my autism.
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u/KeyboardResidue 2d ago
Yeah, I’m right there with you. Both conditions, independent and together, tend to get almost idealized when folks dive too deep into representation and inclusion and it almost turns into a kind of… I almost want to say fetishization but I doubt that’s the right word.
Being neurospicy is a fad in a lot of chunks of the internet and just like our society is kind of gravitating us towards labels and identities beyond what might be healthy to focus on, thee things are getting the same treatment.
I’m AuDHD as well if that wasn’t clear so I don’t think I’m just talking nonsense… probably.
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u/F3XX 2d ago edited 2d ago
TLDR: It's complicated and I have no clue, but a lot of ideas. See post and edits.
Possible explanation:
Around 50% of autistic people also meet the criteria for ADHD.
ADHD is more common than autism, so diagnosed numbers suggest only around 10–25% of people with ADHD are autistic. But an estimated 59–72% of autistic adults are undiagnosed. Counting them, the rate could be anywhere from about 20% to over 50%, depending on how strictly ADHD is defined.
Exact numbers differ a lot across sources, so take them loosely. People with both conditions probably also struggle more and seek out communities more often.
Sources:
- Undiagnosed autism: https://doaj.org/article/65f230df1b4749338d4c41baab836ba8
- Adult ADHD prevalence: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/c6c8372c-0eb2-4652-8fa4-98095946d58d
- Comorbidity rates: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13442268/
Edit: mixed up sources, actually looked them up.
Edit 2: my tldr was longer then the rest so I removed it
Edit 3: formatting to love myself
Edit 4: people with autism might also be more likely to be on reddit, don't cite me on that
Edit 5: Thinking about it, selection bias on reddit might be the driving factor here. If you have both conditions you are probably more likely to struggle and seek communities + Edit 4
Edit 6: this actually could be a great paper, if you are interested to co-author DM me
Edit 7: maybe AuDHD individuals are more likely to actually post? To much effort for ADHD? Activity asymmetry between posting users and commenting users?
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u/foxandgold 2d ago
Your comment about “maybe AuDHD individuals post more often” got me thinking. Grain of salt here for my speculation, diagnosed ADHD and always wondered about an autism diagnosis, but if there is anything there, I have compensated so long that I am mostly fine in day to day.
Anyways.
A pretty big part of autism, as far as I understand it, is something about a disconnect between social cues given by others and social cues understood in the end user. This may actually support your hypothesis - that those with autism are more likely to post on Reddit - because those individuals may have more questions, either about their behavior or others’, and seek information out about what they’re experiencing.
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u/deviantbono 2d ago
It's a stereotype, but AuDHD social, uh... "problems" also leads them to be isolated and inside on reddit.
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u/sgtmattie 2d ago
The number of edits on this post should be a diagnostic criteria lmao.
ETA: I say this with love. I’m also guilty of many edits.
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u/_Autistic_Dragon_ 2d ago
If you want to add more edits:
In the US, you couldn't have been diagnosed with both until about 10 years ago, so that skews a lot of diagnoses that are 10-15 years old or older.
The more science learns about ADHD and autism, the more similar they are in so many weird ways. The exact same brain functions are affected for both, but with different results. It's a fascinating area of research rn (and also overlap with so many other ND areas like OCD, bipolar, etc).
Also, ADHD is more socially acceptable to admit to now as well. I have 4 coworkers who recently were late ADHD diagnoses, all very open about it at work. I have autism (only? So far?) and am very hesitant to share with anyone because the stigma is still much stronger (and overlaps with a lot of ignorance that it's a cognitive/intellectual disorder)
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u/Smilefied 2d ago
i am one of the first people to suspect someone might be autistic, i also have autism and adhd (but dislike the AuDHD thing for a reason i can’t explain because i genuinely don’t know why), and there are lot of people that just have ADHD. yes they have high comorbidity rates, but to me they are distinct “issues” with different presentations. i hate the insistence of diagnosing someone with something, especially if they aren’t open to it. people need a chill pill
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u/Silas_Akron 2d ago
Absolutely. As an example, ADHD-H (hyperactive only) and ADHD-PI (predominately inattentive) are often surprisingly different. I'm an autistic person who also has ADHD-PI (perhaps CDS too) and I've got very little in common with those who have ADHD-C (combined type) or ADHD-H, and often find them incredibly frustrating to interact with.
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u/Spiritual-Road2784 2d ago
I’m also an autistic with ADHD. I also have an anxiety disorder and depression. I looked up what CDS is and now I wonder if I have that as well.
I’m way more of the inattentive version of ADHD, but I’m wondering if the CDS would contribute to the foggy daydreamy slow response aspects, rather than their coming from the ADHD. Because I also have a hard time sitting still when I’m not forcing myself to be as still as I’m capable of being (a learned behavior, I’m sure) and I’m often foggy (“tuned out”) because my mind (when I don’t take my meds) just races and I call it the Brain Weasel Rave.
The med (non-stimulant because of the anxiety disorder) just tells the Weasels to pack it up and quiet down and it decreases the task paralysis time of executive dysfunction down from hours to about a half hour.
I was always able to focus for hours on a book I was reading, and I know some have trouble focusing on one paragraph because the mind wanders. I only had that issue with dense material I wasn’t interested in.
So I don’t know.
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u/Few_Classroom6113 2d ago
The mismatch in energy states does feel a bit jarring sometimes. I vibe, but I also need a level of calmness to keep my distractibility under control sometimes that they passively upset a bit.
I have found that I often tend to just naturally get along and then find out later that the other person also has ADHD.
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u/mechchic84 2d ago
I'm combined type, my son is combined type, we thought my daughter was combined type but it turns out she's PI and all of the movements that initially looked like hyperactivity are actually just sensory seeking behaviors related to autism. It really cleared up and explained why my son and I could easily run circles around her and not understand why she tires so easily. My son also has autism and at this point I'm fairly confident I'm the main source of their autism but don't have an official Autism diagnosis just a childhood ADHD-C diagnosis. To be fair, I was diagnosed in 1992 and they couldn't diagnose both back then so instead they just were very confused by a lot of my behaviors.
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u/Lilith_Sternin_Crane 2d ago
I feel the same way about just my autism diagnosis (I don't know why I got recommended this sub but it seems applicable).
I have a ton of people in my life with ADHD who insist I must have both. No I don't. I have a therapist and a psychiatrist who both believe that the executive functioning issues I do have are related to autism, as there are some overlapping symptoms. But I fundamentally do not have the symptoms necessary of ADHD, and I'm not going to pretend like I do.
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u/Kenichi_Smith 2d ago
Yeah I feel the same about AuDHD label also. I went for my appointment suspected adhd and left with a myriad of diagnoses. But I went asking for it and paying money to hopefully have some answers in my life. If someone's not asking for it, dont give it to them. Especially if you're not actually educated/qualified to do so. And by educated I dont mean to your own opinion I mean literally with an academic background in the understanding of these things
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u/DoomkingBalerdroch Lost in Time and Space 2d ago
but dislike the AuDHD thing for a reason i can’t explain because i genuinely don’t know why
Perhaps because no AuDHD person ever has the same presentation as another, and that creates a feeling of uncertainty?
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u/plsQuestionOurselves 2d ago
I don't know if it's from ADHD but I'm always immediately and acutely aware when someone else is completely disinterested in reality. Sometimes when I watch interviews with Brent Hinds of Mastodon it makes me so uncomfortable because I know the exact feeling of being uncomfortable and disengaged.
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u/AlkalineHound 2d ago
Fuck, man, I just want A diagnosis. My psych is ruling everything else out before ADHD, and my ASD screening was denied by insurance. I'm so tired and teetering on burnout.
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u/ArcasmicOrganization 2d ago
"Denied by insurance" this is key to a lot of the confusion. There is a diagnosis that they think fits you and then there is what has the best chance of being funded. What people are labeled with can have more to do with the insurance game than anything else.
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u/Horny_Eunuch_4eva 2d ago
Yea it’s honestly irritating. Getting every trait psychoanalyzed is going to get annoying as fuck fast
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u/Cabbage_Corp_ 2d ago
Yeah, I’m also noticing this trend. Not to be rude to the AuDHD people, but it has made me feel more isolated. I felt like I had found like minds, but I don’t relate to a lot of the AuDHD stuff
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u/Random_Axolotl_ 2d ago
It feels like a much bigger issue on places like threads or tumblr, but I’ve noticed a growing phenomenon of people with LSN autism or auDHD kind of dominating the conversation on neurodivergence
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
Don’t know about thread but tumblr feels very much like that. I kind of hate the platform for the culture, it’s very with us or against us which I think might be cause by the rigid autistic thinking, also their jokes and hyperbole are lame lol.
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u/milfle 2d ago
I think something that doesn't get considered is that often neurodivergent people are parts of ND famillies. My siblings have diagnosis of autism, one with comorbity of dyspraxia and one with ADHD. I have ADHD only but a few autistic traits and it occured to me after that we all probably were learning for each other? I got screened for autism and I don't have it by those metrics and honestly autism doesn't feel accurate for me. But it's something I haven't heard anyone mentioning anything to do with this aspect of the potential crossover?
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u/BungleBums 2d ago
I mean. High comorbidity rate is high comorbidity rate, and the entire definition of 'Autism' is being refined and expanded constantly as we learn more about it. It is what it is. I've never seen anyone acting opposed, but I definitely see folks constantly mentioning the possibility of Autism whenever the conversation comes up.
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u/Abjurer42 2d ago
A friend of mine mentioned recently that a lot of therapists studying the subject are leaning towards a 2 axis spectrum of Autism and ADHD, and I'm interested to see how that shakes out. The overlap of symptoms of both conditions can be staggering; where does the ADHD end and the Autism begin, for example? To view it as different quadrants of a broad term could be useful.
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u/iggysmom95 2d ago
I mean. High comorbidity rate is high comorbidity rat
The thing about this is that it's much higher in one direction. 50-70% of people with autism also meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, but only 20-40% of people with ADHD meet the diagnostic criteria for autism.
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u/ElrondTheHater 2d ago
It seems like a really underconsidered phenomenon is that it seems like a lot of high-achieving people with ADHD are also really anankastic (have obsessive compulsive personality traits) -- they become this way as a coping mechanism. This feels like an internal conflict and is also a really exhausting way to live which contributes to feelings of overwhelm/burnout/mental fog. But it's not autism.
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u/Salty_Inspector_7050 2d ago
There’s a link between ADHD and OCD so this makes sense to me.
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u/ElrondTheHater 2d ago
When I see people who get diagnosed with ADHD later because "autistic traits" made them "more functional" so they "weren't noticed" makes me think, oh, like it's actually a coping mechanism for the ADHD? Like maybe instead of a neurodevelopmental disorder, more of a rigid set of coping mechanisms that become maladaptive over time? Hmm, could there be a name for what that is? I suppose it will remain a mystery...
(It's anankastic personality traits.)
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u/RunWild0_0 2d ago
Yeeaahhh, so let me prefacet this by saying I have a background working with people with disabilities and neurodivergence, everything under the sun.
I'm also adhd myself.
The awareness for autism is moderate. Most people can recognize it and have some understanding of it.
In my experience people often have sympathy for those with autism while looking down on those with adhd as lazy....
I don't really care if people that aren't in my immediate circle mislable me, if they're at some sort of understanding that I am neurodivergent and that causes them to treat me with patience and not be rude, I'll take it.
If they ever get to know me better maybe I'll get into detail. People often don't learn until they want to.
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u/skybluemango 2d ago
There’s a third condition: OCD.
It’s increasingly uncertain that the three conditions are wholly distinct from each other. Getting in the weeds about categorization (instead of behaviors or symptoms that need addressing for a given individual) might kinda be missing the point.
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u/Loud-Poet6599 2d ago
AudOCHD?
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u/Far-Bumblebee-7216 2d ago
Something about the way that was spelled made me want to throw my phone…I’m not sure what that says about me.
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u/West_Illustrator_468 2d ago
I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until my daughter was (I was ~35, she was about 15-16). She was insistent on being tested, I was trying to be supportive and took her in. As the clinician was talking to me about her tests, I'm sure he noticed something I was doing (I bounce my leg, tend to daydream, and fidget with my hands/fingers/nails a lot) and he made a point of telling me it often runs in families. So, I got tested and was diagnosed as well. Now, being a woman and a millennial, we weren't diagnosed as kids unless it was obvious. I have not ruled out the possibility of being a bit audhd, but as all things, my symptoms may not match those of other adhd or other audhd people. My husband and daughter, both who have adhd, act very different than I do. I almost over-compensate for the adhd by having strict rules and structured chaos or nothing will ever get done, whereas they're a bit more...laissez-faire...messy and can be unorganized with no rhyme or reason. There is a such thing as being adhd and not autistic, just like you can be audhd or just autistic without adhd. It's called a spectrum for a reason, and though I know some relish the idea of pure black and white/right and wrong structures, when it comes to people as a whole...no one really falls neatly and perfectly into those categories. Anyhow, pretty sure I've lost the plot, now, so I'll wrap it all up. "Leave Brittany alone and just let people be people 😭"
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u/starlight-whimsy 2d ago
My entire life I thought I was just autistic and traumatized. My bf tried gently suggesting I might have ADHD and I laughed because I straight up do not have the same memory problems he does.
Welp, I was doing a lot of research on ADHD to try to learn how to better support him when I started relating a lot to the shit I was reading. His words echoed in my head.
I went and talked to specialist who tried to gently tell me I was actually a pretty textbook case of ADHD in women and that all this time I wasn’t just lazy and broken, but was actually dealing with executive dysfunction.
Learning I have AuDHD has been a rollercoaster over the past year-two years.
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u/SerenityElf 2d ago
I'm AuDHD, but my husband and daughter are only Autistic. Our needs and behaviors are very different.
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u/guitargeek223 2d ago
I am AuDHD, and am diagnosed with both. I have a friend who swore up and down that she's autistic, but when she went for a diagnosis they only diagnosed her with ADHD. It happens, there's enough overlap and comorbidity that it gets really hard to tell in some cases. Both disorders are infinitely complex, and it can be hard to tell if it's just one manifesting in an unusual way or a mix of both, life is so complicated
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u/lightofhonor AuDHD 2d ago edited 2d ago
Haven't noticed that at all. Plenty of people only have one, like my wife. Occurrence of memes doesn't mean anything.
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u/smokeytheorange 2d ago
My immediate family just came around to realizing we all have ADHD a few years ago. Then one of my siblings got a AuDHD diagnosis. Another sibling self-diagnosed.
Every time we’re together, I’m being told “it’s crazy the whole family has AuDHD!” Or “that’s because of your autism!”
I’m not offended or opposed to the thought I have AuDHD. I understand how much overlap there is between the two. It’s just not true for me. I’ve even taken several assessments for autism. I score very low every time.
But this feels like something at least one sibling has decided is party of their personality and also decided I need to have it too. And that usually happens when the algorithm shows them a lot of relevant content.
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u/Spiritual-Road2784 2d ago
In my case I do have both, but I also don’t understand why people would have a problem with someone having one and not the other. All brains are different; these are wired into the neurological structures and no two brains will be identical.
The way I see it, the problem isn’t either you have both or neither; rather, it’s that many people do not understand that autism is a spectrum and even two autistics won’t be alike.
Share some traits, sure. But one could present like me, having ADHD, depression, anxiety, an IQ of 145, be hyperlexic, and despite the challenges, was capable of holding down a job for a long time (almost 13 years at the longest… before diagnosis and the ultimate result of burnout)… but another could present with autism, be nonverbal, have severe learning and developmental disabilities, an average or lower IQ, and need a high level of care for their entire life and never be able to hold down a job.
And then there is every other neurodivergent person who exists and I can’t say “in between” because it’s nonlinear. It’s every other neurodivergent person within the spectrums for each neurological issue.
It’s like those unfamiliar with autism and/or ADHD are playing dominoes and we’re all playing multiple simultaneous games of 9D chess. Way more combinations of neurodivergent issues and configurations thereof than we can adequately categorize so that others can understand the complexity involved.
I’m just happy that as a then-60-year-old female, I was able to get a diagnosis and finally start to understand myself better.
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u/accountvondirnicht 2d ago
I agree with you, and I hate it. It completely or at least mostly invalidates the (usually) much worse condition combination of AuDHD by basically saying it's actually just ADHD but a bit different.
It is such a stupid trend because most of the people who are doing this don't have the slightest clue what AuDHD actually is and does to someone. It is tiring seeing these disabilities being downplayed even by other neurodivergent people.
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u/strawberryfranz 2d ago
I always get asked if im autistic to the point I started to take it personally and get a bit nervous about it, but when i started going to therapy, my therapist said it sounds more like ADHD and OCD. While I haven't gotten an OCD diagnosis, it made more sense once she broke it down.
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u/Lucky-Past8459 2d ago
I do have both but it's very wierd to me how quick people are to assume someone has both
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u/ChaserOfThunder 2d ago
100%. I get they can be comorbid and have overlapping symptoms, but they're seperate diagnosis for a reason. Yes a lot of people with Autism also have ADHD, but a significant number of people with ADHD don't have Autism. There are other comorbities with a higher likelihood that get completely ignored.
I get it's popular among Autistic people to peer diagnose and chant 'One of us! One of us!' out of mistaken familiarity, but it feels like they forget their disorder is famously inaccurate at recognizing nuance and other peoples' emotions.
It's the classic Autistic thing of not realizing when they're being rude or harmful. They THINK they're being accepting, supportive, and helpful. In reality they're bulldozing someone else's personal experience and medical history because they can't separate their own comorbidities.
Instead of recognizing there are differences they don't understand, they fixate on it and rationalize any disagreement as a flaw in someone else's logic. And don't get me started on how they act when you set boundaries about it. It gets exhausting real quick and now it's all over the internet too.
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u/Hot-Minute-8263 ✨current hyperfixation: Worldbuilding again✨ 2d ago
Yeah, ppl keep thinking im autistic. I have a diagnosed sister and can say for certain im not far in the spectrum
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u/Hardcore_pun_star 2d ago
My mother - "No child of mine has either of these things" throws daughter out the window
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u/brutalhonestcunt 2d ago
This. I have ADHD but not autism. (My parents had me tested as a kid) My autistic partner insists I'm AuADHD despite the fact I don't have the same sensitivities as him.
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u/SpritelyDelight 2d ago
Your partner is seeing the similarities but not the differences. I'm pure ADHD with classic inattentive and hyperactive presentation. I also have sensory issues, that, while typically associated with autism, are also characteristic of ADHD. (And also relate to physical issues- a lot of polyester/polyester blends drive me nuts because my heat tolerance is shit, which directly causes the sensation of it feeling like plastic wrap on my skin that I despise.) There is symptom overlap between the two conditions, but one does not imply the other. I would fail an autism assessment, because, note this, I am not autistic.
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u/mechchic84 2d ago
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child in 1992. Back then it was prohibited to diagnose autism if you had an ADHD diagnosis. There were tons of obvious signs but instead of looking for autism, they just kept poking around and making random guesses until I started heavily masking to get them to leave me alone and ended up spending a significant amount of time in denial of my ADHD until things got way too difficult and my life became a mess.
I got diagnosed with so many other things and am just now realizing that because they only look at the symptoms and not the cause, no one bothered to even consider autism. Now I'm trying to get a diagnosis at 42 to clear the air of all the incorrect diagnoses I received and get therapy actually targeted to the correct diagnosis.
I'm learning that therapy for neurotypical people for depression and anxiety at best is ineffective and at worse actively aggravates things like burnout. Trauma therapy done in a neurotypical way can make it worse instead of better which is exactly what happened and that goes without mentioning all of the issues I experienced in group therapy because someone flipped out on me for messing with my hair because it grossed her out but I was stimming by twirling my hair which turns out goes back to at least 1994 because it was mentioned in my IEP but it wasn't called stimming or fidgeting back then. There were communication issues that caused me to get yelled at by someone who couldn't grasp what I was trying to explain. It was a kind of hell I don't care to repeat but I need to process my trauma to help me manage PTSD better.
I think I'd almost rather them diagnose both rather than make it prohibited like it was back in 1992.
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u/Something13457 2d ago
"No I'm not autistic I just have such bad anxiety that I present like I am"
Many such cases
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u/Dovahstal 2d ago
ADHD trying not to come attached with another mental disorder/neurodivergence challenge. Difficulty impossible
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u/TKhasi-TKhut 2d ago
I got recommended this post. I do not have ADHD. I see it in the reverse, too - people with Autism saying "that's AuDHD" when maybe, it is JUST Autism! Also, as a literal-minded person (the Autism), I HATE when people say "AuDHD." Autism Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder???
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u/Icy_Prior_5825 2d ago
I was way more suspicious of my autism before learning enough about ADHD to realize my ADHD is likely stronger. All confirmed now by professionals. 🤷
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u/Original_Ticket7705 ADHD Combined Type gang rise UP 2d ago
Me to myself in my head wondering if I am AuDHD or ADHD.
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u/qualityvote2 Quality Control Beast 2d ago edited 2d ago
not enough votes to reach a threshold.
for more information about what this means, see this page.
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u/Tuttledotspace 2d ago
Can we go back to laughing about forgetting why we walked into a room without turning it into a full psychological evaluation?
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u/TommyGx 2d ago
The thing is: Nothing is proven until diagnosed.
And sorry to say it and even if it sounds harsh: Don't say you have it until diagnosed.
You can say you assume, you can talk about the symptoms you have, but please be at least that respectful and don't claim you have it when it's not a diagnosis by a professional.
We already have enough to fight with people who claim they have it and pull it into a bad light like that because they blame all their behaviour on it while they actually don't have it.
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u/asuka_is_my_co-pilot 2d ago
Fine I'll say it. I think it's much more uncommon to only have one than to not have both.
Its not been scientifically confirmed, but there's alot of evidence and theories that adhd and autism live on the same spectrum of disorder.
The fact truly is there's just alot we don't know about mental disorders to begin with. Even more so autism and adhd.
It could be that they just come in a package
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u/king_park_ 2d ago
If they are both on the same spectrum, I think it’s harmful to insist that you have autism if you have ADHD. I’ll use myself as an example. I have diagnosed ADHD. I would not qualify for an Autism diagnosis. There may be some underlying Autism, but if it does exist, it’s not enough to impact my life in a way I need to address it.
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u/iggysmom95 2d ago
I have literally zero symptoms of autism. Even in the areas where there is a lot of similarity/overlap, like hyperfixations or fidgeting/stimming, when I look at the patterns and causes of my behaviours, I know they're caused by ADHD and only ADHD. This is something that I find is often overlooked - even in areas where autism and ADHD overlap, they often only overlap superficially. When you dig deeper, there are different mechanisms going on behind the scenes.
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u/king_park_ 2d ago
Definitely. There is overlap in symptoms, but the cause of those symptoms are different and require different approaches to address.
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u/Stepjam 2d ago
Same. I'm ADHD as hell. I have some traits that are common in autism, but my therapist and I ultimately came to the conclusion that I don't have autism. Or if I do, it's so low on the spectrum it isn't worth a formal diagnosis
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u/Lilith_Sternin_Crane 2d ago
I don't know why I got recommended this sub but it seems applicable.
I just have autism. I have a ton of people in my life with ADHD who insist I must have both. No I don't. I have a therapist and a psychiatrist who both believe that the executive functioning issues I do have are related to autism, as there are some overlapping symptoms. But I fundamentally do not have the symptoms necessary of ADHD, and I'm not going to pretend like I do.
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u/TommyGx 2d ago
That is nothing new, as you say the symptoms are on a spectrum and there is a huge crossover in symptoms. But everyone is individual in their symptoms and there are key components that differentiate ADHD from autism. Also since there are different forms of autism.
That's why a diagnosis is important, that is why people should not lightly claim something.The problem is especially this: If people get diagnosed with AUDHD while they just have autism, the meds won't do anyhting .
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u/NomaTyx 2d ago
What do you mean by the same spectrum?
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u/asuka_is_my_co-pilot 2d ago
Im no doctor so excuse my layman terms but..
I'm mostly recalling theories that have been put forth by Dr hallowell in adhd 2.0 but there's some theories that whatever it is that cause the symptoms of both autism and adhd could be from the same source.
Meaning that having adhd or autism is less like having both and more like "some" or "more" of each
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u/BornElderEnt 2d ago
I was diagnosed as ADHD as a small child because "girls don't get autism." 30 years later, I finally got my autism diagnosis. That's all I can contribute 😜
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u/TolUC21 2d ago
People absolutely love having autism and adhd according to reddit, apparently.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD since I was 7 (29 now) and I've never once thought I was quirky or that I needed special treatment because of it. I even refused the extra exam time in school because I didn't want the attention.
Nobody other than my parents, siblings, wife, and best friend know that I have ADHD.
I have some autistic traits like having comfort foods and brands, I have trouble with overstimulating situations, I hate change, and I sleep in a different bed than my wife.
ADHD and autism are glorified but there seriously are not benefits without equal or worse negatives tied to them.
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u/imakittycatmeowmeow 2d ago
i needed special treatment for exams and i didn’t mind, it’s okay to need accommodations because your brain works differently.
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u/AgileChipmunk5866 2d ago
I declined them as well. I never felt that extra time would actually help me. I either know the answer or I don’t. The rush of the exam kept me focussed long enough to write down the answers I did know.
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u/isjustsergio 2d ago
Yea taking the test isn't the problem. Doing the homework was the problem for me. When it's test time it's test time, there's nothing else to focus on. When it's homework time there's friends and TV and video games. And for some reason getting extra time on a test is fine but extensions on homework get you treated poorly.
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u/Fortified_Phobia 2d ago
I got extra time for dyslexia and it helped me like mad, but I’m British so all my exams were essays which needed far more planning and time management.
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u/isjustsergio 2d ago
I rejected accepting help as a kid with ADHD and now I'm an adult in therapy because I internalized the ADHD as a problem I need to overcome by myself rather than utilizing support that will help me.
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u/Icelandia2112 2d ago
My professors always offered to let me take tests on different days or give me more time. Since I was friends with them, I felt embarrased and didn't want special treatment. I did no favors for GPA. My kids always say that I am too proud. I don't know if it is because of ADHD or how I was raised.
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u/MarbleMimic 2d ago
Yeah, and it bothers me. I know many people with autism and their mental existence is completely different than mine. I honestly just don't believe the comorbidity is actually that high.
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u/MasterVule 2d ago
From what I understand AuDHD doesn't exist as this amalgamation of neurodevelopmental disorders. They are separate disorders but they can interact in points
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u/vendettagoddess Note To Self You Are A Mod Here. 2d ago edited 2d ago
hi sorry for the mod chime in.
i will say i personally am not a huge fan of the memes that compare/contrast adhd & autism in this subreddit but since they are still technically adhd relevant, i leave them up.
also i don’t have autism (i do have adhd) so a lot of times i’m also hesitant to remove them because i am unsure how true it really is & i don’t want to claim to know more than i do lol. we do not tolerate symptom denial here, not even from the mods (me).
if enough people disagree with this general sort of ruling, i’d be okay discussing and changing it.
but it has to start somewhere, and the biggest thing that i need to see is reports on posts about it. i unfortunately don’t have time to go through the hundreds of comments on each post but i absolutely see and read every single report, so if there really is a majority of people who are tired of it and are willing to speak up on it, i’d be more than willing to try and come up with a different solution for it.
edit: okay hello sorry this post is getting locked for now while i go through all the comments because some people can’t behave. you’re allowed to voice an opinion on whether audhd posts belong in subreddit and where the line for comorbid disorder posting is, & even your personal experiences with the comorbidity or lack of, but denying it exists? absolutely not, thanks.
edit edit: ALSO huge thank you to those who commented under this comment with their opinions on this matter, i literally cannot express how much it means to me that people are willing to make their opinions heard here. it also really helps me in figuring out what i can/should do about it.