ADHDer Wondering if Also Autistic

There’s also lots of new information on female specific presenting symptoms in autism. Lots of misdiagnosis happens with autistic women! I got diagnosed with adhd in the 2nd grade and just this year (turning 20 in march) found out I have autism. It’s worth learning about! Even if you don’t get a diagnosis you can still learn new ways to cope with autism symptoms

Once we were taken seriously the doctor knew within minutes of watching her stim. 🙄

I self diagnose as autistic because I already know but I hold back on talking about it without an official diagnosis. Getting my daughter diagnosed was so emotional and initially difficult even though she is currently 9 and still non verbal. We went through alot to be taken seriously when she was two and even three years old and it was so apparent that it's turned me off from seeking a real diagnosis.

for a while when i was in my journey of discovering (well, coming to terms with) the fact that i had adhd, i also questioned whether i had autism because they’re so often comorbid- and not to mention, undiagnosed in women! i’ve always struggled with social anxiety and an inability to pick up on social nuances, and i have some pretty niche and narrow interests. but i really don’t think i have the same struggles as many of my autistic friends. i can usually pick up on certain things like what someone is feeling based on their vibe or body language, and i don’t have a lot of the same cognitive abilities, but i definitely struggle from sensory overstimulation and stuff like that which reads so similar to autism. i think i’ve always been the “weird kid” growing up, and it’s hard to just attribute all my feelings of isolation and strangeness to just my adhd lol

Well Dot 30-50% of people with ADHD also have ASD. (And 50-80% with ASD have ADHD). Another fun fact, the team that has been working on SPD since 1999, suggested diagnostic criteria, and developed tests for SPD finds 40% of ADHDers and 80% of autistics have SPD. While the diagnosis criteria doesn’t overlap, the lived experience of ADHD/autism does. However both conditions have firm ground. ASD owns the area of an inherent lack of understanding of social situations. ADHD owns inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Anything from those areas that says can be a part of the other condition likely comes from information before 2013 (pre-DSM5) when they couldn’t be diagnosed comorbididly. Clinitions would often just lump symptoms of the other together to explain comorbid people who couldn’t get diagnosed. Anyways that wasn’t really what you asked, but ask an ND about their current interest…..

Same!! My sister lowkey bullies me by saying that Autism is my special interest. I’m hearing a lot of differing opinions, even from professionals, about the overlap between ADHD and ASD. Some say there’s a lot, some say there’s a minuscule amount. But come on, am I a person with ADHD, sensory processing disorder, social anxiety, etc.. Or do I have ADHD and ASD?

It’s nice to hear I’m not alone!

Same deal here. I'm going to get tested for autism in a few months. Also, I am an obsessive researchers too ✋ STEM graduate as well

Lol. My short term memory is pretty bad, but my long term memory is amazing. A lot of us have very good memories. I’m a STEM major too so papers don’t scare me off.

I wouldn't even be able to bring myself to research stuff like that but if I did I would forget it very easily because of the dementia that come with ADHD