ADHD over-dx diluted ASD credibility?

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I didn't know about the inattentive kind until I read about it here.

Hear hear!! Yes, the popular stereotypes abound out there, thanks to "media pollution" in our collective minds.
I too wish that the emphasis wasn't so much on kids; I guess it's a pragmatic choice for society, b/c they're the up-and-coming generation who need to be productive for more years than us already in adulthood - they can't keep herding them into group homes. The trouble with that focus is, it perpetuates the stereotype that AS is a "kid's disease" and any adult should have gotten past it "by now".

In a very angry emotional type of way.

I agree that it's partly the media to blame. I don't think people favour ADHD hyperactive but it's all they know. It was hyped up in the 90's when I needed the treatment the most. I was eventually diagnosed inattentive but I'm more combined. In fact I have very few Inattentive days now, but I take my medication long term and with few rest days.

Since I moved to the city I have found people that are open to AS. They had seen a documentary or read a book or heard about it somewhere and then they meet an over stimulated somewhat inebriated version of myself that has waited weeks or even months to talk about this kind of stuff.
People are even open to the meds I take (Ritalin) but then get defensive about children taking it, to which I reply "KIDS HAVE ADHD!" I suppose I take it personally because I could have used the medication back in school. There was this disability work group that I attended that I never really gave a crap about putting any ideas forward but after the first couple of weeks on Ritalin you just couldn't shut me up. I did my worksheets in five minutes and spent the rest of the lesson on my phone because there was nothing left to do.
Unfortunately childhood is one of those times where ADHD is at its worst and all we have is the medication as well as therapy, but therapy alone or even diets or exercise will not alleviate the symptoms. Kids don't have that many ways to self-teach themselves how to better deal with the symptoms.
There is more support and programs for AS because I think there's no quick fix like there is for ADHD and because it's on the autistic spectrum you can get on more services. It depends where you live of course. I've never had a problem getting on services in my adult years.
I get people misunderstanding AS in adults too, or not taking the issues seriously. People think I'm gifted or at least intelligent. OK, I am intelligent but it took a long way to get here. I think my AS curiosity kicked in at 23. I had interests before that, way intense ones, but very narrow ones and nothing at all interested me outside of them.
It's society's way to pity the disabled and hold up the geniuses. Autism is such a hot topic in the media too. I don't think the words 'balanced' or 'complex' enter into mainstream news's vocabulary. That won't help them get the ratings.

I'm going to try to increase awareness on what ADHD really is and as for autism...well it's hard. I don't like it when people just look at positives and skills because that makes my struggles seem like they're forgotten about. I also don't like to focus on the negative. I don't want to make myself sound superior to anyone without autism. I barely use the word 'NT' any more. I don't want to make people feel bad for the lack of proper awareness too like what I see plastered all over Facebook. There's got to be another way to increase awareness than making others feel bad.

Anyway, tangents. Gone off. Many times. Should probably end this post.

I believe a lot of that perception of ADHD over-dx being projected as ASD flippancy is b/c people over-simplify the behaviour as simply "not listening" or "you just need to listen more closely to what people are telling you." With ASD, it's more a matter or processing speed, literal interpretation, or deficits with theory or mind - but people seem to think that the only possible root cause for such communications breakdown could be a lack of concentration or focus. So as a result, they regard Aspergers as the "latest fashionable label" for a condition where the subject just needs to listen more carefully, in their (uninformed) opinion.

Nah, I think the two disorders can be as serious and debilatating as each other.

What do you think ADHD is, exactly? Being distracted by sensory input in your surroundings is part of the criteria.



No. It's both over and under diagnosed. Some people, such as adults and sometimes girls, are underdiagnosed, while school-aged boys are overdiagnosed.



You'd call increased risk of being a lifelong criminal benign? Because that's part of the prognosis for ADHD. (I'm not saying all people with ADHD are criminals, but there is a correlation, it's clear in the research literature. Especially if they have ODD or CD, which are common comorbids for ADHD.)

What's CD?

Conduct Disorder I think.

THANK YOU! I have never been able to articulate this concept as well as you have. I'm really glad to hear from someone like you who has knowledge and experience on both of these conditions.

As a child, I seemed to have the opposite problem as you. My mom got it in her head that I had ADHD in the 90's, and she found someone who was willing to diagnose me and write me a prescription after a grand total of 20 minutes of screening (which consisted of me refusing to talk because I couldn't stop crying after he started off with "So I hear your dog died"). I kept telling my mother that I didn't have trouble focusing or remembering things, but she didn't believe me because my teachers had given her the idea. Meanwhile my teachers were thinking that I wasn't paying attention when I really was (I'm told I have a tendency not to look at people when they're talking to me). However, ironically, I am one of those people that can tell you exact phrasings of entire lectures I've been given more than ten years ago. I am also great at organizing, and don't tend to lose things unless someone else is involved. On the flip side I am very sensative to loud sounds, dislike eye contact, and have trouble recognizing people. It seems clear to me that I'm quite the opposite of ADHD.... and yet, here I am, diagnosed with ADHD and never even been screened for AS. I think it's a disservice and a misrepresentation to all people who struggle with ADHD that when someone on the street asks me if I have ever been diagnosed with ADHD I have to say "yes." Honestly, I'd love to get things straightened out, but I'm too afraid of having another bad experience with a psychiatrist.

Now, that being said, I am just one person and do not represent a trend, just a case study if you will.

I think a lot of the problems with public opinion of ADHD are people thinking they understand the actual disorder, when actually, they just know the pop-psychology usage of the word. People don't realize that when they say things like "Oh, where's my purse? I'm so ADD!" or "I'm so OCD about liking my car clean!" they are perpetuating the misconception that psychological conditions are trivial, commonplace, or even trendy. AS and ASD in my opinion are not quite as much household words yet, but I see them starting to get that way now as more and more formerly uniformed people gain misconceptions through TV and other media characterizations, then avidly defend them despite no personal investment or knowledge on the issue.