The overlap of ADHD and ASD and controversy surrounding it. Can we talk about it?

[FayetheAspie]

I wonder if different aspects of my ASD are at different levels too. When I inquired as to why I was not assigned a level, I was told that she (the psychiatrist) could not tell which level I was. The second sentence in my previous comment was describing myself. My ADHD definitely includes the hyperactive type. I was up on my knees, back down in my seat, repeat all day in class. I loved to spin, climb, jump, ect. I could not hardly keep a pair of jeans without the knees out from spinning on one knee at a time on the living room carpet. Oh, and I can't forget blurting out answers and interrupting. At least half of this, I still do.

 

[MNAus]

ASD levels are assigned on the basis of the level of support required. That's kind of unfortunate because it means that if you've developed coping mechanisms, no matter how unhealthy these may be, you might be diagnosed as requiring less support. Example: people who have substance abuse issues might appear to be less impacted by symptoms. But, it's all we have right now.

The more I reflect on ASD and ADHD, the more I realise that they really aren't similar at all. It's going to sound odd but there is something in the ASD symptoms/traits I have which feels far deeper seated in my identity and who I am as a human. Whereas the ADHD feels like an impediment, standing between me and everything outside of me. My autism is part of me, on the end of the phone line, and the ADHD is the static on the line, preventing my expression. I don't think they actually have much in common at all, from a traits point of view.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I wonder if different aspects of my ASD are at different levels too. When I inquired as to why I was not assigned a level, I was told that she (the psychiatrist) could not tell which level I was. The second sentence in my previous comment was describing myself. My ADHD definitely includes the hyperactive type. I was up on my knees, back down in my seat, repeat all day in class. I loved to spin, climb, jump, ect. I could not hardly keep a pair of jeans without the knees out from spinning on one knee at a time on the living room carpet. Oh, and I can't forget blurting out answers and interrupting. At least half of this, I still do.

ASD levels are assigned on the basis of the level of support required. That's kind of unfortunate because it means that if you've developed coping mechanisms, no matter how unhealthy these may be, you might be diagnosed as requiring less support. Example: people who have substance abuse issues might appear to be less impacted by symptoms. But, it's all we have right now.

The more I reflect on ASD and ADHD, the more I realise that they really aren't similar at all. It's going to sound odd but there is something in the ASD symptoms/traits I have which feels far deeper seated in my identity and who I am as a human. Whereas the ADHD feels like an impediment, standing between me and everything outside of me. My autism is part of me, on the end of the phone line, and the ADHD is the static on the line, preventing my expression. I don't think they actually have much in common at all, from a traits point of view.

I feel like they are both a part of me. One funny early childhood memory about the ADHD is that I was almost always talking. One time my Mama asked me to be quiet. I responded "But my mouth feels funny when I'm not talking. " It was true too. Often still is, but I learned at an early age to talk at myself silently inside my own mouth moving my tongue to the words but not opening my lips largely so that I could be the quiet introvert that my dad expected me to be.

 

[SweetHoney]

With me my ADHD is more dominant than ASD, as I lack a lot of ASD symptoms but have like 9 out of 10 ADHD symptoms.

But then again, if we all stopped associating every trait of every neurological disorder/mental health condition in the world then maybe it would be easier to separate the two. But now that the autism spectrum is becoming broader than the universe even though autism still seems to be a mystery with scientists coming up with stupid conspiracies about the cause of autism every month (such as eating cabbage causes autism or something stupid like that), it's becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between autism and all the other existing neurological disorders.

I think only people who were late talkers and exhibit other obvious autism symptoms should be diagnosed with autism, otherwise everyone who had no speech delays should be diagnosed with something else, before autism becomes...another word for "human". No wonder they say "everyone's a little autistic".

Or, now that there are distinct facial features in autistic people (Google it and all results will confirm it) you could just look at an ADHDer's facial features and go "well they don't have the autistic facial features so it must just be ADHD". I don't have any of those facial features so maybe I'm not on the spectrum after all.

Or, being so nearly every parent on the spectrum seem to have more than one child on the spectrum, maybe check if a person's parent(s) are on the spectrum and if they nor their other close relatives don't seem on the spectrum then that could also be used as some evidence that the person might just have ADHD and not autism.

Just a thought.

Yes, to my knowledge I din't believe I had a speech delay. And an elementary school teacher told my mom they thought I had ADD. But I had a head trauma st 5, and my hearing became painful and sensitive likely afterwards. So my sense if smell and light sensitivity got worse as I was an adult. Now I believe my symptoms would give me a autism diagnosis. And I was diagnosed with ADHD sever innattentive type at age 27. What a mess, I turn 52 in 2 weeks.