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Are ADHD and Autism related?

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CryingTears15
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22 Jun 2015, 9:58 am

I know a guy, my friend, who is diagnosed with ADHD, and not ASD. He has some ASD traits though, as in, a dislike of pictures being taken of him, a seat he has to sit in at lunch, and a hard time conveying his own sarcasm, (like me).

I have ASD, not diagnosed with ADHD. I doodle, feel hyperactive often, and have an attention deficit.

So could these disorders be related? Feel free to share insight.



kraftiekortie
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22 Jun 2015, 10:03 am

I believe, with relative frequency, that both are co-morbidities of the other.

It's not uncommon for one to be autistic with ADHD traits.

It's not uncommon for one to be ADHD with autistic traits.

In retrospect, I was (and still am) ADHD and autistic--the emphasis depends upon my mood that day.



lordfakename
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22 Jun 2015, 10:14 am

They can also share presentations in some way e.g. issues with executive processing



CWA
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22 Jun 2015, 11:56 am

One of my kids is dxed ASD with ADHD traits and the other is dxed ADHD with ASD traits (At least for now, I'm working on getting an ASD diagnosis for the ADHD child for reasons you can figure out after reading this).

One thing that is really irksome and makes no sense is that ASD is a developmental disorder, while ADHD is a mood disorder. They are so stinking similar, how is this even possible? Since they have these totally different classifications, the treatment is utterly different. For my ASD kid its therapy, therapy, therapy which actually seems to work (not ABA, no thanks). For the ADHD kid? Pills. That's it. Let's drug her. That's the only answer they seem to have. And the pills don't work, they just make her nuts. She would definately benefit from the therapy. But... I can't get her any. Because it's not considered an effective treatment for the ADHD. And it's autism specific.

So... my ASD kid is getting help that helps while my ADHD kid is getting... nothing.



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22 Jun 2015, 1:59 pm

Autism and ADHD share some of the same underlying genetics and it's common to see both run in a family.

CWA wrote:
One thing that is really irksome and makes no sense is that ASD is a developmental disorder, while ADHD is a mood disorder.


ADHD is not a mood disorder. It's a developmental delay. Many of the neurological features in ADHD are very similar to autism.

In a mood disorder, the limbic system is overaroused, which heightens the sense of emotion, so the person has emotions that seem out of proportion or even unrelated to their circumstances.

In ADHD it's quite the opposite, the limbic system is underaroused. The brain tends to be "sleepy" and this leads to lower inhibition. People with ADHD feel normal emotions in response to circumstances, but may act out on them very impulsively due to low inhibition.

Stimulants work for people who have ADHD, because the brain is understimulated. The stimulant wakes the brain up into a higher state of alertness. I don't think medication is the answer for everyone...personally I don't take any. But with that said, how a person responds to medication is a pretty good indicator of whether or not they actually have ADHD.



CWA
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23 Jun 2015, 11:54 am

dianthus wrote:
Autism and ADHD share some of the same underlying genetics and it's common to see both run in a family.

CWA wrote:
One thing that is really irksome and makes no sense is that ASD is a developmental disorder, while ADHD is a mood disorder.


ADHD is not a mood disorder. It's a developmental delay. Many of the neurological features in ADHD are very similar to autism.

In a mood disorder, the limbic system is overaroused, which heightens the sense of emotion, so the person has emotions that seem out of proportion or even unrelated to their circumstances.

In ADHD it's quite the opposite, the limbic system is underaroused. The brain tends to be "sleepy" and this leads to lower inhibition. People with ADHD feel normal emotions in response to circumstances, but may act out on them very impulsively due to low inhibition.

Stimulants work for people who have ADHD, because the brain is understimulated. The stimulant wakes the brain up into a higher state of alertness. I don't think medication is the answer for everyone...personally I don't take any. But with that said, how a person responds to medication is a pretty good indicator of whether or not they actually have ADHD.



I don't disagree. However EVERY psychologist and pediatrician we've seen has referred to ADHD as a mood disorder or behavioral disorder. No one has called it a developmental disorder and they don't treat it like that either, they just throw pills at the issue and the pills make her insane. To me she seems very much like my other daughter who is DXed ASD only with an addition of an heaping dose of hyperactivity. But it's really hard to tell because she is extremely hyper.



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23 Jun 2015, 1:50 pm

They supposed I have ADHD when I was a kid because AS was not yet known.



ralphd
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23 Jun 2015, 4:45 pm

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q-QC4voqmRg


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ToughDiamond
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23 Jun 2015, 5:19 pm

Subjectively speaking, I don't like ADHD as a diagnosis. I gather it's somewhat controversial. I just sense there's something wrong with the diagnostic pigeon-holing system there. I find the formal diagnostic criteria rather difficult to fathom, not sure why. I'm an Aspie and I have a lot of problems with attention, and I could be said to have a hyperactive mind. I'd be interested in trying some of the anti-ADHD drugs they offer. I seem to remember an Aspie saying they'd been prescribed a stimulant - amphetamine - and that it allowed them to think in a much more linear manner instead of their usual tangential manner. I rather fancy giving amphetamine a try myself, as I'd love to find out what it could do to fix my own tangential thinking style, which is likely a big reason why I have trouble paying attention, but I can't see much future in it, as it's supposed to be pretty habit-forming and not safe to take long term. I think I'm just the kind of person who would get stuck on it.