Can GAD be confused with Autism

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My daughter diagnosed with GAD recently, my daughter was always anxious even when she was a toddler, she was terrified of fire works, dog barking, hover any sudden noises. Strange environments to her always scared her and made her upset. She doesn't answer to her name you have to call her or stand in front of her to get her attention. She had grommets inserted when she was young it help a little but still have a problem getting her attention.

She has been dx with ADD, GAD but I feel she is on the autistic spectrum, her brother is dx with AS while I feel she does not meet all the criteria for this but she diffidently has a lot of autistic traits. I have posted about this before so I won't go into too much.

But just around the anxiety issues (GAD) if I am right seems to develop around environment issues but she was always so anxious as I said before even before her brother was born.

She is 15 now and still gets upset if plans change suddenly, something as simple as me changing what I will cook for dinner upsets her. She doesn't go out with her friends or socialize as often as you would expect for her age. If I am late to collect her she will text me and be very upset 1 minute pass the time and I get a text. Her organisation skills are poor and when I suggest to use a reminder or planner she refuses as she said it will upset her if it changes.

She also gets stressed over minor things,she is clumsy, has low muscle tone, sensory issues, she is very depended on me, she has difficult following instructions, directions for example if I ask her to go to the store and get 2 or 3 different items this is very difficult for her even if I explain what I need clearly. She also has what maybe be a tic not sure its around her mouth and she seems to be conscious about it because she covers her lip when she is talking. She has depth perception difficulties also. She also suffers from lots of ailments, headaches, ear infections, stomach aches, sore throat, tonsillitis, she is asthmatic, has allergies.

She is also very good at masking her difficulties, she has an average IQ but her recent state exams would suggest differently. Whilst she studied but I wouldn't say overly she did extremely well all her teacher were surprised with her results .

She never really was interested in toys or pretend play, I used to buy her the lasted fad but she had no interest in it. She is quiet child and manages herself better than her brother whom needs and demands my attention, she all so has her demands on me maybe not as vocal as her brother.

I am not sure but I as her mother I do feel she has a lot of autistic traits that cannot be ignored. I am sure that I have probably forgot to include other things the main one which I find with both my children is that they don't actually realise how good they are and always look at others. regardless of there difficulties they are amazing in what they accomplish but they fail to see it. Why?
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it sounds to me like there is a good chance she is a spectrumite, but i am not a clinician. From what i understand methods vary from clinician to clinician even. Even if she isn't technically autistic, there is the Broad Autism Phenotype. And keep in mind technicalities are somewhat arbitrary. Our brains dont draw lines here or there for what is what, it is a range. Sorry my wording is vague i think you know what i mean.

see if she would be interested in trying a bulletin board. I think this would only work if she 'maintains' it. You can be more creative with each note, and through use, patterns may emerge of what works best. Its not as organized as a planner, but something is better than nothing. I have a lot of fun with bulletin boards. I must emphasize that it should not be restricted to important things, and that it should be an entity of creativity, wherin everything has a place, including important things. Things are there somewhere. When she looks at the board it might help her be mindful of certain things. For me its a much less stressful idea than trying to keep things a boring appointment book.

And on a different note, try Omega fatty acid supplements. Or foods containing them. I recommend the supplements but those pills are kind of large and i know that could be an issue for some people. I was terrified of pills when i was a child. But if i am daily taking Omegas, it makes a world of difference for my executive function and ability to be organized and less absent minded. Of coarse it doesn't bring me up to speed with 'normal' organizational abilites, but it brings me to my personal best within my range

Both my children take fish oils daily, she also take Ritalin for ADD, but the difficulties I spoke about still are a problem. She will not follow any system as she gets too upset if its not followed to a tee so to speak. The Ritalin has help with her study before she was performing less her results have increased with exams so forth.

But she still insist that I am with her at things she should manage herself, this is constant. Cooking, buying clothes, going to exam, activities having to be all through whatever successes she has etc. I could go on and on.