ADHD and autism “dual diagnosis”

[whatnots2015]

I telephoned my local diagnostic services yesterday and they’ve accepted my GP’s referral and put me on the ADHD pathway first, which apparently is standard when someone is referred for both ADHD and autism. On the referral questionnaire I think that I scored quite highly for both ADHD and autism and I’m wondering if anybody here has experience of “dual diagnosis” or autistic traits that they recognise in themselves. I don’t know much about ADHD but I’ve been wondering about autism since my nephew was diagnosed about 10 years ago.

[Gazettechan]

Hm, I’ve never been. I hope someone can answer so, I get to learn about it too.

[Penny Williams]

The dual diagnosis of ADHD and autism is common. There are a lot of overlaps. You may find some insights in this article:

Is It Just ADHD? Comorbidities That Unlock an Accurate Mental Health Diagnosis

Penny
ADDitude Community Moderator, Parenting ADHD Coach, Podcaster & Author, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism

[leftie22]

My son was diagnosed with both, autism first then ADHD. Is there some aspect you’re wondering about in particular?

For me, they seem very interwoven, so it’s hard to say what aspects come from ADHD or autism. I’d say overall, where I see what I think is autism at play is in rigidity (difficulty with change and transitions, love of routine) and social interactions (he would choose to play alone vs. with others most of the time, not very socially inclined, doesn’t have back and forth conversations.)

The ADHD manifests more in ability to concentrate on things that he finds boring, forgetfulness and emotional volatility. (Although that could also be related to autism).

I think they’re almost on the same spectrum though, so you might see a lot of overlap in the two.

[Author]

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