Autism with ADD versus Autism without ADD

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Hello guys, I recently read an article describing what it's like to have ADD (the attention disorder). I identified with a lot of the things that were said but I don't know if that's because my autism (executive functioning) or if I could also have ADD. I'd love to hear from aspies/autists who have both and how they differentiate between the 2!

Hey walkthemoon. I feel like I mirror you. I was diagnosed with ADHD, but really Identify with aspies. I have executive disabilities of course, but I also am very sensitive and awkward, and don't have many friends. I have always felt like I was different from other people, and that they didn't "get" me. Perhaps we are both misdiagnosed? Or maybe the distinction is blurred?

I just joined the forum today because I want to figure it out. What do you think?

There are soooo many overlaps between ASD and ADHD, I'm starting to wonder if they are just secretly the same disorder! They just seem like two sides of the same coin.

Considering...

Autism symptom: Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts
ADHD symptom: often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
ADHD symptom: often does not follow through on instructions
ADHD symptom: often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected
ADHD symptom: often talks excessively
ADHD symptom: often blurts out answers before questions have been completed
ADHD symptom: often has difficulty awaiting turn
ADHD symptom: often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g. butts into conversations,games, or activities. may start using other people's things without asking or receiving permission; for adolescents and adults, may intrude into or take over what others are doing)

The stereotype about children with ADHD is that they're just "badly behaved."

Social problems in general aren't in the actual diagnostic criteria for ADHD, but it's well-understood that ADHD symptoms can (and usually do) cause people to have social problems.

Autism symptom: Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
ADHD symptom: often fidgets with or taps hands or squirms in seat
ADHD symptom: is often "on the go" acting as if "driven by a motor"

Autism Symptom: Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of the environment
ADHD doesn't officially entail sensory issues, but I've heard SPD is a pretty common co-morbid with ADHD. And of course, hyperactivity and stimming involve a lot of the same behaviors.

From anecdotes, I get the impression hypersensitivity is more common in autism and hyposensitivity is more common in ADHD.

Autism example trait: difficulties with transitions
ADHD symptom: often avoids or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort

Procrastination is an established ADHD problem, and procrastination is what you do when you are dealing with "autistic inertia."

Executive Dysfunction
Most problems in the "inattentive" portion of ADHD are related to executive functioning, and the executive function concepts of inhibition and emotional regulation are impaired by the "hyperactive-impulsive" portion of ADHD. ASD doesn't have anything about this explicitly in the diagnostic criteria, but it's apparently well documented that ASD folks often have trouble with executive functioning (details and citations available on Wikipedia).

These phrases sound like slightly hyperbolic description of some of my traits:
Insistence on sameness
extreme distress at small changes
difficulties with transitions
need to take same route or eat food every day

Those are all examples from the DSM5 (autism), but at least in my case, I can trace those problems back to something on the ADHD inattentive symptom list.

Hyperfocus and special interests
"Hyperfocus" is a term used by the ADHD community, and "special interest" is a term used by the autism community. Both terms seem pretty broadly defined, but they seem pretty closely related.

Also considering...

ASD and ADHD are more commonly diagnosed in children (and all the research and funding and resources are definitely geared toward helping parents whose kids have ASD or ADHD), and diagnosticians are trying to determine the symptoms based on behavior.

There are some traits that the two conditions don't share, but you also don't have those traits to get the associated diagnosis. (Impulsiveness, destructive behavior, and drug use are associated with ADHD, but you don't have to have those to be diagnosed with ADHD. Language delay and especially a long term inability to speak are associated with autism, but you don't have to have those to be diagnosed with an ASD.)

Broad autism phenotype
BAP is a set of personality traits associated with autism, such as "aloofness" (introversion, disinclination for eye contact) and "rigidity" (preference for sameness or consistency). It isn't a diagnosis and doesn't entail impairment. It is more common in biological relatives of autistic people than it is in the general population, so it is apparently biologically related to autism.

When people are talking about autism or Asperger's syndrome being a good thing (whether better than neurotypical or just different but equal), they are usually talking about BAP traits. When people talk about not wanting a cure, one of the many objections to a hypothetical cure is that researchers and therapists often want to take away weird-looking but harmless traits including BAP traits. When someone is described as "still autistic" even though they are no longer impaired enough to be clinically diagnose-able, it's usually because they still have BAP traits. AQ seems to overlap a lot with BAP traits.

It seems there's a fine line between "high functioning" autism and a combination of BAP+ADHD. I wonder if people who have a lot of the same problems as autism but don't have a BAP person are more likely to get diagnosed with ADHD, SPD, or something else. (Or get diagnosed with nothing and go without help.)

I'd say pursue resources related to either or both, if you think it could help you. Like, when I talked to a psychiatrist, "executive function training" was a treatment for ADHD but not for autism.

I identify with a lot of what ADHD people say too, and I don't have ADHD - just executive dysfunction. My attention issues are kind of the opposite of ADHD, because I tend to focus on one thing and tune out everything else, and it takes a lot of effort to shift attention. I know many people with ADHD hyperfocus sometimes, but I hyperfocus pretty much all the time, and I'm never distractible.

I also am not at all hyperactive, and only slightly impulsive. I actually deliberately act more impulsive than I am because it helps me function better - it's easier to make myself do something when the impulse hits than to remember to do it later.

I have both ADHD (combined type) and ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

Relatively new to this. I was referred to see an ADHD specialist doctor to discuss ADHD symptoms. I wasn't entirely sure if I met the criteria for an ADHD diagnosis. So I was surprised when I was diagnosed with ADHD, prescribed medication for it and then referred on for an autism spectrum assessment. The specialist doctor was pretty sure I had ADHD/ASD comorbid symptoms. So I have ended up being diagnosed with both ADHD and ASD. May be it's a mixture of genuine surprise or denial, but I still trying to learn how this all affects me.

ADHD only symptoms
For some years, I'd considered the possibility that I had ADHD. The symptoms include short attention span, careless mistakes at work, being impatient, talkative, sometimes feeling hyper, often finding things exciting and occasional "hyperfocus". I now take Concerta XL, which is a methylphenidate. Taking these pills seems to lift my mood, gives me longer periods of attention, provides calm and makes me feel less restless.

ASD only symptoms
Some symptoms have been brought to my attention either via a recent diagnosis report or from friends. I have poor empathy skills and it's something that has to explained to me. My diagnosis report scored me on the 0-80 EQ, where 80/80 is total empathy, 30/80 and below is the ASD diagnosis cut off. I scored 16/30. Social reciprocity: the ability to to engage in back-and-forth chat. I do struggle with this, preferring factual or academic subjects for discussion rather than light entertainment. I was also scored for this: 4/6 and above is a diagnosis cut off. I scored 5/6. I have several special interests which I do like perusing and I do have some routines around these interests.

ASD/ADHD combined symptoms
This is where I am learning about the two together. Variable work performance would be explained by poor execution function. I am hopeless at project management, but better at linear step by step instructions. I can be prone to manic moments and mood swings. My GP has now prescribed me the anti-psychotic drug, Olanzapine (Zyprexa). This drug has been really effective for me. If I'm not interested in a subject, then it requires great mental effort to show any interest. If I like it, then I'm into that subject and all set to become a self appointed expert.

Over the last 6 months, I've been seeing a pyschologist to discuss my anxiety. A lot of my anxiety surrounds uncertainty and not being able to predict things. This may be another symptom of the ASD.

Both the ASD and ADHD have gone undiagnosed for decades. I've probably avoided diagnosis by getting through life with occasional visits to the doctor, developing compensating skills and somehow muddling through employment.

I have both combined-type ADHD and HFA / ASD, and identifying separate symptoms between disorders is damn-near impossible for me.

One thing that's somewhat interesting (and I'm not sure if others have this) is that I can drift vastly between the two, depending on what I do. A good diet, exercise, adequate sleep and socialization tend to bring me more into ADHD-mode as opposed to ASD mode, whereas treating my body poorly tends to bring out the HFA symptoms (panic, anxiety, tendencies to isolate, OCD, depression) more prominently.