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Some Theorize ADHD and AS are both on the ASD

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Is ADHD on the ASD?
Yes 19%  19%  [ 19 ]
Yes 19%  19%  [ 19 ]
No 31%  31%  [ 30 ]
No 31%  31%  [ 30 ]
Total votes : 98

Epimonandas
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13 Feb 2005, 8:23 pm

Well they are comorbid disorders, and i have both. I have read there are some similarities, such as trouble making friends, lack of attention, tantrums, and a few others, and they also seem to respond to or are treated by the same medicines.



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13 Feb 2005, 8:25 pm

I've never heard of kids with ADD having social problems...


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13 Feb 2005, 10:38 pm

FuzzyChickens wrote:
I've never heard of kids with ADD having social problems...


Yes, social problems are documented, but the cause is different. With ADD, it come down to inattention. Social cues are not picked up because the individual is not paying enough attention to the subject, being distracted by the environment. So when it comes time for them to react, their reaction can be impulsive, and wildly wrong for the situation because they have not given themselves enough information to respond appropriately.

With AS, I see the attention being there, but the individual being blind to the signals.


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MishLuvsHer2Boys
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13 Feb 2005, 11:13 pm

All I know is a new way to diagnose ADHD is through EEG so not sure if would really show much of a picture of synapses and neurons etc. From what I heard EEG is the most definitive way to diagnose ADHD there has been in a long time, suggesting likely something brainwave based...



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14 Feb 2005, 12:15 am

EEGs and bloo tests are the only real ways to diagnose anything. All other methods leave far too much room for subjectivity - ink blots in particular tend to be complete horsecrap.


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12 Mar 2005, 4:26 am

I think they're related conditions, but different.

My neighbour, who is very aggressive, impulsive and hyperactive, and was expelled from every school here, seems to me to be ADHD, but I understand her and why she behaves the way she does, because I can factor in poor social intellegence into her behaviour, we have a kind of rapport I don't get with NTs.

She's never been dxed and keeps asking me whether she has AS, because we seem to have many things in common. I tell her no, but I think she might have ADHD.



Epimonandas
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13 Mar 2005, 8:47 am

You can have both Postman, I do. And AS can easily be misdiagnosed for ADHD.



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13 Mar 2005, 10:54 am

ADHD isn't a PDD as far as I know, so how can it be an ASD?



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13 Mar 2005, 11:28 am

PDD and ASD are the same thing. ASD is the much newer used term and I find a much clearer one.

Source: http://access.autistics.org/resources/g ... /main.html

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Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) - Although sometimes incorrectly used to mean PDD-NOS or to avoid telling a parent their child has autism, PDD is not an actual diagnosis but a diagnostic category in the DSM-IV refering to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. Symptoms may include communication problems such as using and understanding language; difficulty relating to people, objects, and events; unusual play with toys and other objects; difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings, and repetitive body movements or behavior patterns. Pervasive developmental disorders, sometimes referred to as autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), include: Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome (AS), Rett Syndrome (RS), Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).


Both are terms that categorize the disorders on the autism spectrum. There is a higher incidence it seems in families that also have members on the autism spectrum than normal population, same with OCD.

There is a book out called "THE ADHD-AUTISM CONNECTION" by Diane M. Kennedy With Rebecca S. Banks, Paul T. Elliott M.D., & Carl Daisy, Contributors

The website is at: http://www.adhdautismconnection.com/

She made a comment on one forum that it seems there seems to an increased misdiagnosis rate of ADHD before an AS diagnosis is made. Maybe ADHD is more similiar with traits to the autism spectrum disorders than one realizes, just like Hyperlexia and Sensory Processing Disorder or Apraxia.



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13 Mar 2005, 2:40 pm

vetivert wrote:
which is why Ritalin (=speed/ampehtamine) alleviates the symptoms, by speeding up the process.

That is not how those meds work - they work mainly by blocking transporters and increasing the amount of neutotransmitters emitted into the brain, so more Dopamine (and to a lesser degree other neurotransmitters) is available for longer in the brain, in particular in those areas where specific defects lead to a lack or diminished amount of these transmitters.



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13 Mar 2005, 3:11 pm

Noetic wrote:
vetivert wrote:
which is why Ritalin (=speed/ampehtamine) alleviates the symptoms, by speeding up the process.

That is not how those meds work - they work mainly by blocking transporters and increasing the amount of neutotransmitters emitted into the brain, so more Dopamine (and to a lesser degree other neurotransmitters) is available for longer in the brain, in particular in those areas where specific defects lead to a lack or diminished amount of these transmitters.


Ritalin is a methylphenidate that has a similar structure to amphetamine or methamphetamine but gives slightly different effects.



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14 Mar 2005, 5:23 am

Vision wrote:
Ritalin is a methylphenidate that has a similar structure to amphetamine or methamphetamine but gives slightly different effects.

I think it works more by blocking the transporters (so Dopamine doesn't get moved out of the way and taken back up so quickly) whereas amphetamine-based meds work more on pumping out more Dopamine.

The reason why one med can work better for some and the other not at all is that various defects can be involved in ADHD, and if a defect in the transporters is the cause for the lack of dopamine then throwing more dopamine at it might not solve the problem.



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14 Mar 2005, 11:21 am

Just out of curiosity though, which stimulant meds work to actually up dopamine output? Aderal? I just ask because dopamine seems like it's not only linked to the quality of my functioning almost completely, but it's also directly linked to depression I have which comes and goes (I've tried SSRI's in the past and they were horrible, on the other hand ritalin worked great).



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14 Mar 2005, 11:44 am

techstepgenr8tion wrote:
Just out of curiosity though, which stimulant meds work to actually up dopamine output? Aderal? I just ask because dopamine seems like it's not only linked to the quality of my functioning almost completely, but it's also directly linked to depression I have which comes and goes (I've tried SSRI's in the past and they were horrible, on the other hand ritalin worked great).

I was under the impression that Adderal and Dexedrine increased Dopamine directly, whereas Ritalin was more of a Dopamine reuptake inhibitor. However SSRIs work on Serotonin, rather than Dopamine.

Have you ever tried Wellbutrin? That is supposed to be the anidepressant that most closely acts like a stimulant.



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14 Mar 2005, 2:04 pm

Noetic wrote:
Have you ever tried Wellbutrin? That is supposed to be the anidepressant that most closely acts like a stimulant.


Yep, the stuff worked in reverse on me - amped my anxiety up real high, made me a complete wreck, and had me smoking almost twice as much.



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14 Mar 2005, 2:38 pm

MishLuvsHer2Boys wrote:
There is a book out called "THE ADHD-AUTISM CONNECTION" by Diane M. Kennedy With Rebecca S. Banks, Paul T. Elliott M.D., & Carl Daisy, Contributors

The website is at: http://www.adhdautismconnection.com/

She made a comment on one forum that it seems there seems to an increased misdiagnosis rate of ADHD before an AS diagnosis is made. Maybe ADHD is more similiar with traits to the autism spectrum disorders than one realizes, just like Hyperlexia and Sensory Processing Disorder or Apraxia.


That book is pretty much what inspired this thread.