ADHD & ASP

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I'm new to this forum and new to this spectrum. My psychotherapist suggested I look at Aspergers...due to difficulties with relationships, communication and emotions.

I have recently been dx with Adult adhd and dyslexia....I think the symptoms are all the same....just different names ! I have the memory ability of a pair of curtains....ie nil....unless I drum the information in repetitively ! !

Have always felt different....as if I'm on my own planet....sound familiar ? My behaviour and choices are almost always the complete opposite to everyone else. I've given up trying to 2nd guess what 'normal' people naturally do.

I get 'that look' very often....as if to say.....'you said/did what ! !' Things do come out of my mouth without my brains involvement ! ! Now I deliberately do things to get this look

I am an adrenalin addict choosing extreme sports....I think I do this to make me really feel something.....as I feel kind of....neutral most of the time. The more dangerous or bizarre...the better !

I am also really really impulsive.....I changed my name by Deed Poll after 2 weeks of thinking about it....I had a tattoo today (small sexy one on my foot.....OUCH) 2 weeks after thinking about it ! ! I thought I was being really good waiting 2 whole weeks ! !

I'm great with problem solving and am very enthusiastic (infectiously so)....as long as I don't get bored ! ! Which leads me to
......attention span of a gnat...unless I'm really interested in it...then I can waste hours investigating my new interest.

I would like to think that I finally fit in this world, and if it means being true to myself and all my bizarre traits.....I'm very happy to be here

hello

please excuse my bad typing on pain meds right now. Welcome to the autistic comunity! as a child they origonaly thought I had ADHD but it didn't fit. I have a boyfriend with ADHD and while we have some things in comon on major diffrence is my inflorescence obsessive intrests. I only get really interested in 1 to two things and thats all I talk thin read draw and dream about. I also have a need tou routines and rituals as well. they finaly got me diagnosed with PDD-NOS autism because I had a speech delay so was disqualified for Aspergers and I fit the criteria for classic but again was concidered to verbal so I am perfectly in between the two

Hi, thanks for your welcome

I hate routine.....because it bores me.....but I actually really need to have routine....for motivation and focus....crazy eh ! !

I think it is thought that my AS traits are regarding emotions and my interaction with others. I don't seem to have normal friendships. It's the close personal part that makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't like staying over at peoples houses, or going for dinner. Some people just think I'm being unfriendly....until I let them get to know me...then they know I'm ok.

I was extremely hyperactive as a child, suffering from severe temper tantrums when excess energy just had to be released. My parents struggled to cope so after a particularly traumatic event....I just switched off my emotions (nothing abusive....just emotionally traumatic). My twin sister does not present with the same traits.....so I believe it was due to this event.

My husband is very dyslexic....so our admin is really crap....as is budgeting....it's such a chore ! ! Interesting how we seem to find partners who have similar traits/disorders !

You're definitely eccentric, and you fit the "Adult ADHD" definition pretty much perfectly. People have theorized quite a lot that ADHD is connected somehow to the autism spectrum, because of the similarity in sensory processing.

I have the ADHD/autism combination myself, but my ADHD is Primarily Inattentive type, which means I space out, get distracted by shiny things, hyperfocus, and can't switch gears, rather than acting before I think or bouncing off walls.

Hey Callista,

How do your autism traits fit with your inattentive adhd ?

Do you have issues with emotion, communication or trust ?

I agree with shiny things mmmmnnnnnn

Talking of bouncing off the walls.........I was restricted to an office job for 6 months after a back injury (UK Police Officer) I was completely bouncing off every wall in the building....driving everyone crazy with my boundless energy and endless talking ! !

I'd hate to be crewed with me ! !

Emotion--yes. I can't stop myself from expressing emotions when I feel them. So if I'm sad, I'll be all-out crying; if I'm angry, I'll have to go somewhere private so I don't yell at people; if I'm happy, I'm handflapping and bouncing and grinning... I've learned a little bit to inhibit this, but not much. Think of the way a toddler wears their emotions on their sleeve--it's a little like that, with an adult's cognitive ability and experiences, of course.

Communication--also yes. I interrupt in conversations, monologue, and forget to contact people. Oddly enough, I'm not bad at public speaking; I think it's easier to keep a train of thought when there doesn't have to be a back-and-forth conversation.

Trust--Yes, but not the way you might think. I always think the best of people, give them the benefit of the doubt; so it's hard for me to distrust people until they've proven themselves untrustworthy. But once I detect lies, I tend to be a lot more cautious. I'm not truly naive; just... hm... idealistic, I think.

Autistic traits fit with the inattentive ADHD mostly in the area of sensory processing. I don't know how to figure out which sensory information is important; so I try to process all of it and get exhausted, or else disconnect from all of it, daydream, and zone out. I also tend to over-organize to have a prayer of figuring things out--systems, lists, schedules, and routines for everything; and even then I end up late to lots of things and forgetting things I meant to remember. Both autism and ADHD have the problem of executive dysfunction in common; problems planning, remembering, executing plans, prioritizing, multitasking... I kinda suck at all of that stuff.

I do like going out and walking when I'm going nuts indoors. I think this is because I like the motion of walking, and the mild adrenaline rush you get when you exercise. I take Concerta, which lets me avoid the tiredness I usually get sometime during the day, and lets me plan better and rein in my bouncing-around focus a little, but it's more like it gives me an edge and makes my coping skills easier to use--it's not good all by itself; you have to work to take advantage of it.

Recently I've realized that I might have a combination of Asperger's and ADHD (can't be too sure yet, diagnostics haven't happened yet). The ADHD was odd for me growing up; I definitely had a form of it, but because I didn't have all the symptoms of it (I still was affected negatively by it), I was treated for it with Adderall but was never diagnosed with it. Adderall never helped me. All I ended up doing was gaining weight and becoming depressed, which took the form of anger for a while.

Then I was unofficially diagnosed by a nurse with Asperger's recently.

Personally, I keep seeing them as, while coexisting, two opposing forces. Having ADHD I can be a thrill-seeker at times, want to try new things, and like deviating from the typical schedule. Then with Asperger's I have the complete opposite of these at times. More reserved, comfortable with what I have now. Sometimes one takes over, sometimes the other one does. Often I'll be split between the options from both sides, and can't seem to pick out which fits me the most.
ADHD - Want to have more friends and wish I could fit in socially. Asperger's - Wanting to fit in, but can accept solitude happily.
ADHD - sometimes really impatient. Asperger's - I could wait forever.
ADHD - Sometimes can be impulsive and make bad decisions. Aspergers - Scared to make decisions period.
ADHD - Loving to play sports a lot... Aspergers - ... but not coordinated enough, or social or skilled enough, to do so well.

While I get that "my own planet/world" thing sometimes.

Emotion - I have real problems identifying with emotions and find it difficult to distinguish other peoples emotions. I can't tell if they are being serious, sarcastic or sad.

There are times when I felt I should have cried, when a friend died and yet when my sister-in-law had a right go at me.....I couldn't stop crying (cow). That makes no sense to me

Trust - well that comes from issues with my parents. I don't really trust anyone, and the few times I've dropped my guard....I've re-learned my lesson

Communication - I am misunderstood quite often and I misunderstand other people. Unless I can see their face and hear the tone of their voice....I get the meaning all mixed up.
I also seem to talk in riddles and confuse people. The more I try to explain something....the more I can see I am confusing them ! !
I talk over people, interrupting them all the time.....if I wait for them to finish....I will have forgotten what I wanted to say.
I also talk incessantly....to the point that I can bore myself....so dread to think of the suffering I cause others ! !!

Callista......what you said....is me all over......Both autism and ADHD have the problem of executive dysfunction in common; problems planning, remembering, executing plans, prioritizing, multitasking... I kinda suck at all of that stuff.

I think tho from what you are saying that I am much more adhd (impatient, impulsive, hyperactive, definite thrill seeker, ....but my social side is more AS....I've come across Alexithymia which is a form of AS....that rings bells with me. Not that I'm looking for labels....just finding out what makes me tick.

I won't bore you anymore....but thanks for your posts

(I'm on Concerta XL....bizarre being given a stimulant....but it helps me focus and concentrate a little better....wanted the weight loss side effect...but seem to have missed out there !)

AS/ADD here. I feel I'm my own species, not normal, not just AS, not just ADD.

Any advise Frag ?

Welcome to wrong planet. I hope you enjoy the forums.

I'm terribly boring at this point.. no advice. Actually some questions just blank my mind out LOL.