When symptoms collide?

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Maybe this is a dumb question; if it is, sorry.

Not diagnosed with AS, but there's definetly some real evidence in favor of me having it. However, I AM diagnosed with ADD. When I read about either, however, sometimes it seems the symptoms would, or at least could, contradict each other. (Seems the AS symptoms I "miss" can be considered symptoms of the ADD.) Does anyone else here have both ADD/ADHD/whatever-else-they-call-it and AS? How do the two mix for you in your cocktail of symptoms? Or does a positive ADD diagnosis mutually exclude the possibility of Asperger's?

I hope no one thinks this question rude...or irrelevant or annoying. I have a strong tendency towards that last one. -_-

which symptoms do you think contradict each other?

I was just thinking of posting a thread on this very same topic, and i was gonna call it something like Comparing and contrasting ADD and AS symptoms.
I am also diagnosed with ADD and am not diagnosed with AS, but I have alot of symptoms....
BUT I don't know if I have enough symptoms to be concidered AS
They are not mutually exclusive. There are lots of people who are diagnosed with both..
It is my (undereducated) understanding that AS and ADD CAN exist comorbidly...
BUt it does seem to me that some of the symptoms of each could tend to cancel each-other out.

It gets confusing...my ADD and AS symptoms blend so much together...hard to disconnect the two.

The ways in which I am less AS and more ADD have to do with my lack of order, ritual or routine...I do not wear the same clothes..eat the same foods etc....maybe i did when iwas younger though...My obsessions may not be as intense due to my spastic attention span..they are, however, long-running...

It is difficult after a while to dissect ones own personality into a series of symptoms...
My AS symptoms have to do with my tendancy towards sensory overload...I have eye contact issues, auditory processing issues, face recognition issues, stims, toe-walking, depth perception problems (can't drive a car)...extreme social akwardness...difficulty with friendships...(but ironicly am ok at romantic relationships)
I definitely know people who are more socially akward and eccentric than i am...but nonetheless..

I don't really know where the ADD ends and the AS begins...(if I qualify, that is)

That's basically what I have that conflicts with AS. I get bored of doing the same thing over and over again, there isn't much comfort in it for me. I suppose I have the things that I go to frequently... but once my desire has been satisfied, I change to something else.

There are a couple of times when I need absolute order, like when I prepare to talk on the phone... I need all the information I want to present in front of me... before I make the call. This is more a habit I've made for myself... since I dread doing something off the cuff.

I also make big plans for order, but I always get distracted by something else... and I rarely get pass the mental effort stage. I have half completed organizational schemes all over the place.

It's funny how many things aren't nearly as contradictory as they would obviously seem.

I've heard about some that have both, but I guess Asperger's/autism would be the main diagnosis and the others would be secondary.

I have a theory on Asperger's/autism and how it can affect an individual. Think of a computer, a really fast machine with heaps of RAM, latest operating system, peripherals etc and for some reason some of the programs may not be working to their full capacity; whether there is a glitch in the hardware/software or whether there are too many applications vying for resources. The system runs normally for 99% of everything that's on it, but for some reason something is causing it to either slow down or not work properly. Now, imagine the brain being the CPU and motherboard, and the human body being the peripherals; with any input through reading or schooling or whatever being the 'programs' or software. Now, imagine also that Asperger's is the glitch that is causing the system to not function to full capability, then you see where I'm getting to. But, you say, if a computer can be fixed to get rid of the glitch, why can't Asperger's be cured? Simple; computers are machines, and they can be upgraded by technicians etc, but the human brain is far more complex and no amount of brain surgery or whatever will fix a problem which cannot be fixed, no matter how much we think it would. Asperger's/autism are genetic, and thus will always be evident in those likely to be affected, and they are not communicable diseases (like viruses or bacterial infections) and thus cannot be cured. It would be far better for people to understand their condition and live with it without expectations of being perfect, rather than hope for a cure which is never going to happen.

Well, that's my theory. Hope you can get something from it.

This may sound dumb..but where does the ADD come into play?
It has been described as being similar to Aspergers..I have heard all kinds of things..I have read some places where they say that ADDers are on the spectrum..or that only some ADDers are on the spectrum....

or..better put..There is a reason why this board is described as being for those having ADD (as well as for all those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders)....everything you describe also would apply to ADD..as far as my understanding goes. It is also genetic (though sometimes linked/blamed on environment)...it is also a sort of glitch in the brain's wiring that affects everything else...it might be somewhat managed with medication, but it isn't cured....etc...

I have heard it gone over lots of times, but it still confuses me.

I spent years on ADD forums without ever having heard of Aspergers.
I was only able to seek diagnosis and treatment for ADD at the age of 30..

ADDers certainly have similar issues to those with AS...we are prone to sensory overload..obsessions...and well alot of other things that for a long time I thought were ADD symptoms...appear to also be AS symptoms.

I guess i still don't understand where one ends and the other begins.

it seems like Add might be over diagnosed if you ask me

I've no doubt ADD, and especially ADHD, is over diagnosed, but I haven't a scrap of doubt in my mind that ADD exists and that I have it. I know some are of the belief, "Those 'ADD' kids just don't want to focus so they claim to have some disorder so they don't have to." Thing is, I want nothing more than to be able to focus on what I will when I will it, but an act of the will isn't always enough. I'd imagine almost anyone with one or both can understand that.

And Wikipedia says ADD and AS can occur "comorbidly," apparently. (What on Earth does comorbid mean??? Sounds like a term that could give someone a complex...) Is one considered primary or secondary to the other? How much has really been known about AS in recent decades? I was diagnosed with ADD in 1989, and I'm just wondering to what extent AS would have even occurred to most people at that time.

Sorry if I'm not making any sense here.