Can ASD "act" like ADHD

Post Reply New Topic

I have Aspergers. My place is in a mess, and I wonder if I have a touch of ADHD, or if my problems with order is typical for some people with AS. It is not easy to ask for a test, so I´ll present my observations here.

I am stressed. My apartment is a mess, abandoned projects surround me and I can look at a messy table without having an idea about, where to start.
My head is firing off random thoughts, impulses and half ideas. I try to stick to one thing at a time, leaving a trace of half done things behind me.
There must be piles of misplaced things in some corners, where I don´t come, because there´s no time.
The door bell goes, the phone rings, the cat wants out...all at the same time, - and I drop, whatever I hold in my hand.

What I do to avoid it? Keep absolutely still. If I move, all hell breaks loose, as above described.

I was never hyperactive as a kid. More an introverted type, not good with other kids, occupied with special interests and with a need for order and straight lines.
Only my mind is racing, - but I have heard, that it is typical of AS too.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Other that the fact that my house is not a mess, it's not as clean and organized as it should be or as I would like it to be, but other than that I can 100% relate to what you are saying. But once my mind gets "Ready" to do something like clean or organize, or do some other task that is executive function based, then I can get it done and get it done extremely well but until my mind is "Ready" it is just as you described. And sometimes getting my mind "ready" can take months or even years. Sometimes not long though, Like I have to pay a bill today and log some receipts. I will make sure that gets done no matter how hard it might be to get started.

Yes! Bills are first priority. It may take me some days, depending on how nervous I am about it. The rent comes first.
So aspergers can give all that? Alone?

Paired with stress and emphasized clumsiness it is simply over the top.

For bills and stuff I have support to take care of it, and the rent goes automatically from the disability payment, I have to do nothing.
I do not think I have ADHD, but severe executive dysfunction which can be a symptom of autism itself, that's what my psychologists say.
For organizing appartment: I do not own a lot of stuff and everything has its place, so I cannot end up in a mess, because if I would own a lot of staff I would end up in a mess.

Executive Functioning Deficits are common for people with ASD and ADHD. It presents pretty much how you describe poor planning, time management, organization and multitasking abilities. Hyper focusing on special interests is a coping mechanism.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3413474/
http://www.ucd.ie/artspgs/langimp/autismexecdysf.pdf

Unlike previous versions of the DSM under the DSM 5 you can be diagnosed both with ASD and ADHD.

I have both an ASD and ADHD at the same time. I do notice some of the time that I feel as though I don't have ADHD, but in a way I actually do. It's really hard to explain. It's not uncommon to have both conditions though. I am also extremely disorganized and don't like cleaning up messes. D: It's really hard for me to do it, so my parents end up having to clean up for me. I don't have my own bills to pay, and if I do... my dad is charge of that. My parents have been looking into assisted living places for me too because I'm unable to do anything on my own. I was in a life skills class, but that was a disaster. They acted like I already knew how to do those things and refused to help me figure them out. -_-

I wasn't really hyper. I just couldn't sit still or stay in my seat. I don't know if you'd consider that hyper, but I was just very inattentive and stuff like that. I do suffer from severe executive functioning though, and that ALWAYS make things a living hell for me.

At first, I was diagnosed with a slight ADHD with my AS, but later it was called hyperthinking, but now I have described it to the psychologist as it is and wait to hear his answer next time.
It may be stress, as I am in a very stressful social situation.

At school, I was a daydreamer. I zoned out. But just as often, I failed to process part of what was being said and was told to pay attention.

Racing thoughts are bad. You would think with what I was treated for in the past they'd go away with a fluctuation in mood but this isn't true. My mind never turns off. Lately I've actually enjoyed sleeping because I don't dream much and I'm not stressed at this time. Why? Because the thoughts don't race. The thoughts aren't there.

I am very, very bad at organization and prioritization. I did okay in school but in work I realize I have problems. I'm motivated but easily attracted to one project after the next to where I forget to do things that apparently really matter. The projects I'd like to finish are nice and all, but they're not necessary in keeping my job or fulfilling my job description. I can flutter from one thing to another but finishing them completely is a challenge. I get detoured frequently.

I'm good at cleaning and organizing actual objects but it's no use because it gets disheveled pretty quickly. I don't like to throw paper away even though I may have an electronic copy on my computer. I am horrible when it comes to "losing things" like car keys, my driver's license, or my work badge. These items are often "right in front of my face" and it annoys people when I ask them if they've seen these things.

What helps me with bills is auto-pay on the Internet. That is how all my bills are paid. Otherwise I'd probably be several days late on some.

Thank you all. You have helped me to make a distinction and see, that it is just aspergers and stress.

Maybe. There are overlaps in between conditions. I can imagine ADHD acting like ASD and also if they have sensory issues and dyspraxia. Some people say it's like autism.

I was suspected as having ADHD as a kid. I was hyper but yet I loved to be clean an have a clean house and I had problems listening in school and needed breaks from class, my mind also raced fast so that was my reason for "attention problems." Also getting told to pay attention hits close to home and the zoning out. I was told that having thoughts in my head and not being able to turn them off was OCD even though I wasn't distressed. I was daydreaming. But most people can turn those off and concentrate. I don't know anymore. Either they were mistaking or it's OCD. I sometimes wonder if I have ED issues too and I thought wouldn't that be mentioned in my diagnoses? Was that term around in 1997? I didn't hear the word until 2007 and I just thought for a while it meant not doing simple things and it was a fancy word for lazy. I had an aspie friend who would make fun of the term and she wouldn't feel like making her bed so she said she was having ED. I have made jokes about it myself by saying my whole family had it because they didn't pick up after themselves every time and say other people had it because they had messy homes and never cleaned. But ED is more than this and it means other things.

I hate shortenings! Could you please translate ED?

I was just about to start a topic on this when I came across your post. I feel the same way. When I am "on" the house is clean, bills paid on time, go to the gym, start or complete projects. But when I am off its a struggle to function in daily life.

I have a specific question to pose: The racing and ruminating thoughts I suffer from cause me to become delsional. This can sometimes lead to a significant break from reality for me; not in all areas, only in areas affected by the delusional thoughts. However the thoughts and delusions consume nearly all my executive resources and I am left barely functioning at times. I become depressed with a high anxiety level. Insomnia kicks in and that just makes it worse.

I did an experiment on this last occurence and I took a 100mg Zoloft and within 6 hours the delusion had lifted, my mood had improved, and i was feeling relaxed again. It was literally like waking from a dream. I wonder if the delusional state with depression and anxiety leads to depeated serotonin, or if the depleted serotonin comes first. Either way taking a SSRI breaks the cycle for awhile.

I am thinking I just have naturally low serotonin as these delusion are cyclical, almost resembling BPD.

Any thoughts on this?

I don´t know about this one. I never tried that, - being delusional, when depressed, - or in the speedy state, you describe, or anything cyclic.
As far as I know, BPD isn´t cyclic. Could it be bi-polar?

Ok, thanks.
Executive dysfunction is common in aspies.

Ya, I meant bipolar disorder. Just wondering if anyone else has a quick response to SSRI's