Aspergers + ADHD = ______

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,

I have a theory about my condition and I am wondering if this rings true for others with both Aspergers and ADD or ADHD...

A tiny bit of background: I am 28, had trouble all my life with all the things you would expect. Just found out the reason^^^


I believe that ADHD has offset my Aspergers in many ways because it has stopped me from becoming too obsessed with one thing, instead I get bored very quickly and go on to something else, because of my interests (creativity, writing, english, sociology, philosophy, theosophy, psychology) it tends to go around in a circle and I inevitably come back to each subject. This has made me knowledgeable in each subject but not to the exclusion of everything else. Unfortunately I am not an expert in any one of them. I can say hand on heart that if it were not for ADHD i would be the best in the world at what ever I had decided to do. I know I would have obsessed in one direction.

I believe if I can treat my ADHD that within a year I could be the best or close to in whatever i decide to do..

Does anyone who has the same or similar condition have anything to add? I feel that there is a lot more to this juxtaposition.

Wow, I was just talking with my partner about this yesterday! I have asperger's and I strongly suspect inattentive-ADHD (my Son does and I relate to it perfectly!).

I was just saying the same thing, but in a sense that it makes me completely overwhelmed and "stuck" in my Life in that
(a) I have so many things I want to do and am doing but
(b) for each particular thing that I am doing, I want to do it intensely and perfectly at the exclusion of everything else.

This leads to me going from one thing to the next, feeling like a constant failure, never knowing which task to do first (prioritizing - they all seem as important as each other), and not starting anything properly because I know I dont have the time/energy/resources to do it to the extent that I need to do it.

I, like you, wish I could just focus on the one thing and become really good at it and follow that path!

I have an intense desire to learn about stuff and spend hours and hours researching, but then if I have to do anything about it to make it a reality (like study, or towards my business I am trying to start, etc,) I feel that ADD brain kick in where I just lose it with making myself write/organise/prioritise, plus I have often gone off onto some other topic by then that I am completely absorbed in! (Not sure that that made any sense there lol)

Yes, I totally agree with you. I also have Aspergers and ADD (I don't include the H as mine is inattentive... I sometimes wish I was hyperactive, I might get more done!).

But yes, my Aspergers helps me focus on a special interest then my ADD comes along and steals away the interest... I get bored and drop it. I can actually feel the ADD side of me start to take over now when I'm interested in something... and I try to fight it, but usually lose. Plus, I get so tired trying to stay interested in things (and my conditions already zap my energy).

It's a vicious circle alright! I have got really good at many things I've become interested in but haven't maintained the interest for long enough to take them to new heights... grrrr!! !

I've been thinking the same thing the last month or so, if I only could get my hands on some meds that would tone down my ADD, I would be able to actually focus long enough on one project to get it done/perfect.

I already know I can finish projects when I medicate my ADHD. I was self-medicating with ephedra from the late 90s until 2003, and during that time I was much more productive than I've ever been. It also made it easier for me to work beyond my reserves and burn out. While I am trying to get my ADHD properly medicated now, I still have to pace myself and allow for breaks to avoid another burnout period.

So you stopped the ephedra because you got burn out Verdandi?

I tried taking phentermine for a while and it did give me extra energy to do stuff and focus better but then I found that at the end of the day/week it was almost as if all the stuff that affects my aspergers had actually been adding up underneath it all while I didn't realise it and BAM it would hit me all at once once the phentermine wore off!

It's an interesting theory and I relate to it a lot. Just ask my Mum. Every week I'm all "okay, so guess what I want to do with my life now" and she's all -->

I also relate to their cyclical nature, which is why I always try to leave an opening to come back to what I'm interested in at a later date, like keeping everything relating to the languages I'm trying to learn and storing my leatherworking tools safely until the compulsion hits again (rather than getting rid of them, like I did with a lot of my books before I realised I'd be interested in them again one day.)

Thing is, I'm already being medically treated for ADHD, but it's not making any difference to the number of interests I have. What it does help me with is being able to appreciate delayed gratification, put down whatever I'm intensely involved in and do that tax return or the washing or an assignment. It also helps to finish a project that I started with great fervor but have since lost interest in, (so I don't have to feel guilty about it later).

For a long time I also wished I could stick with just one thing, because, as you point out, I'd be freaking awesome at it. But I've come to realise that's just not my personality, and whether this is due to my ADHD or not I don't know. All I know is that if I tried to do one thing for the rest of my life I'd be miserable, meds or not.

In this way, I like to think of myself as more of a generalist than a specialist, but I'm a specialist at being a generalist and for this reason I can have incredibly interesting conversations with a wide variety of people, engage in a multitude of projects and have already done and seen more in my life before reaching 30 than most people I know will ever do and see in their entire lives.

The world needs a lot of different types of people, and if the ADHD meds don't help in tethering you to one special interest, I wouldn't be too upset....they'll at least help you do your taxes.

Even though I'm pretty sure I don't have ADHD, I have VERY similar condition to the OP where my interests are cyclical were for one period of time I'd be interested in one thing and then it diverts to something else. And it repeats in a cycle.

I stopped the ephedra because I hated the physical effects and I became concerned about the safety of continuing to take it. It became illegal to sell in the US less ~a year after I stopped using it, however.

I have autism and ADHD but I've not developed an intensive or obsessive interest (a special interest) upon treating the attention "deficit" and hyperactivity of ADHD with methylphenidate.

This is very interesting! For as long as i can remember i cycled through my interests. I'd stick with one for a month or two and be totally obsessed during that time. Then something happens to remind me of one of my other interests and it's like someone flips a switch in my brain and i'm back into my other interest.

Now that i think about it, that also happens with small stuff on a daily basis too.

Several of my geadeschool teachers thought i had ADD. I hadn't considered the idea that it's possible to have AS and ADD together.

I have aspergers and innattentive ADD. But even though I can be intensely interested in some hobby or subject matter , I am too restless and easily burned-out to become obsessive about anything.
It seems that having some form of ADHD does prevent obsessiveness from taking place, for an aspie.

I honestly don't know if I'm ADHD or not. I've never been diagnosed, but I always feel like something wants me not to pay attention...

Aspergers + ADD = bags of half-finished knitting projects, shelves of books bristling with bookmarks, boxes of cut-out historical costume patterns, a desk covered with unidentified mystery rocks, etc.. But I can go back to any of these at any time and pick up right where I left off.

Ive noticed that people with aspergers and adhd are usually more socially outgoing than those without the adhd symptoms.

A messed up me.