How is AD/HD related to Autism?

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Just curious about it being included here. I definitely have ADD, still not sure about Aspergers. I met with a psychiatrist yesterday, he says the ADD is causing problems I never associated with it and wants to get me medicated (that would be awesome if I could have more energy and drive!). But he wants to spend more time with me before diagnosing Aspergers. I'm a week from turning 42, female, and I guess high-functioning, so I'm glad he's taking his time even though I want to know NOW.

Anyway, I just had never thought of ADD as being related to autism. What's up with that?

Thanks

Wow, this sounds amazingly similar to what I have recently been through. I am 43, I took myself off to a psychiatrist because I suspected ADHD, and after two visits I came back with a diagnosis of both ADHD and Aspergers. I felt pretty sure about the ADHD but thought he must surely be mistaken about the Aspergers (as did many of my friends) -- until I started reading up about it and understanding it better.

ADHD/ADD is common in people with Asperger's Syndrome. Psychiatrists refer to it as a common "co-morbidity", i.e. it is often present in addition to Asperger's.

Being diagnosed as an Aspie took an immense mindshift for me, but I am now so glad to have been diagnosed, because for the first time in my life I have found appropriate help for some of the things where no tips, tricks, psychologists or self-help books could help me before, strategies SPECIFIC to Aspergers which relate exactly to the feelings I have when I lose my temper or feel anxious. I am also finding it wonderful to socialise with people who I feel understand an important foundation of my character which no-one else really gets. It is a great relief and it fills me with unprecedented hope.

I'm not saying that you're going to be diagnosed as Aspie, but if you are: Welcome. It's a FANTASTIC privilege to be part of this world.

Research has shown that 1/3 of people with AS also have ADD. It is common. I was first diagnosed with ADD, but not AS. As time went on and assessments went deeper, it was discovered that I have Asperger's Syndrome, moderate, and no ADD.

I wasn't really distractible, just spacy, so I resembled ADD. Professionals weren't looking at women as candidates for ASD diagnosis. I had to do my own research and bring in up. I also had to go to specialists to make sure assessments were done accurately.

Thanks for the responses. I am also wondering if I have celiac disease. I went to an endocrinologist about PMDD, and she suspects an auto-immune condition -- she didn't specify celiac, I'm just hoping it's that, since I can treat that with diet (although I know it's extremely difficult to totally avoid gluten). If I end up without a job or insurance, as I may in a few months, I might find it hard to buy meds. Eating whole unprocessed foods, even organics, is cheaper than processed foods and restaurants. I still have a lot of research to do ... I don't know if celiac-induced ADD symptoms are reversible once off gluten, or if the damage is done by my age. Anyway, having celiac wouldn't mean I don't also have ADD.

I find this stuff fascinating. The fact that it's not like a virus that can be cultured and identified, yes-or-no question, you've got it or you don't. I feel like we, the patient community, actively help to shape the scientific community's understanding of cognition and emotion, exactly by forums like this one -- exploring our own subjective experiences and comparing notes with one another, reporting back to our doctors. "I never saw anything about this in the literature, but it seems like a lot of aspies experience xyz ... What do you think, doc?". Or challenging and correcting the scientific understandings, like the way Aspie empathy is now being re-thought. Then the docs and scientists probably have the same kind of discussions among themselves, and it opens up new lines of research for them. All very fascinating. Then I've always been a pretty proactive patient.

Yeah, I definitely get the impression that it's often easily dismissed, especially among adults and women. I'm glad the shrink didn't make a snap judgment.

My psychiatrist didn't make a snap judgement either. In fact, he chose NOT to tell me what he was suspecting until he felt he'd confirmed it in my second session. Many of my friends who know what Asperger's is actually argued with me when I told them the diagnosis, because they too were thinking of certain stereotypes, whereas Asperger's is actually a syndrome, meaning a ballpark collection of traits, and if you don't have this one or that one but you do have a great bunch of others, you can still be an Aspie.

For example, one friend who is developing software for autistic children told me I am too "context-aware" to be an Aspie. Others referred to my well-modulated way of speaking and said I couldn't be an Aspie. People also feel that I should be far more dysfunctional to be classified as an Aspie, not realising that if it weren't for the opportunities which I have had in my life, I could have ended up depressed and institutionalised.

In fact, I have an attractive neurotypical female friend who says she wishes she had my social skills -- now that, you would think, would be the ultimate sign that I am not autistic! I had to explain to her how many cognitive processes I actually go through to behave in a manner which seems at most eccentric but at least not too nerdy, and how relaxed I feel in the company of geeks, because I do not have to constrain myself to the usual smalltalk. In fact, many additional demands of normal behaviour are known to me. I could fake being a completely ordinary woman if I wanted to, right down to the precise body language, conversation topics, dress code, etc. because I have observed it for long enough and document it as a cartoonist; and I am good at play-acting. But I just can't bring myself to do something like that and still introduce myself as me. It would be so complely dishonest and false and besides, there are so many social protocols which I don't like.

And very few people have ever seen me going through an Asperger's meltdown. They have no idea.

My favourite pastime with this pretty friend is to spend a whole day in a shopping mall, trying on clothes and visiting a coffee shop while we gossip about people and fashion. That does not sound Aspie at all either. But I have very few female friends, and one of the things I enjoy about her (besides the fact that she is actually willing to be my friend!) is that the whole clothes and dressing-up thing is an artistic pursuit to us. I do not dress up to attract men, as many women who enjoy clothes do. My pretty friend and both enjoy photography; we take pictures of each other, and her boyfriend also likes playing along. It's like playing with dolls, except that you are now a grown-up, and the doll is you.

In google search type in "Definition autism" the definition is terrible but it has....something about not being able to pay attention. I am terrible at paying attention. i also am aware that people with ADHD and ADD have meltdowns as well and ADHD and ADD is found on chromosone 16 along with autism.

Same part of brain is effected.

I Googled ADHD, Aspergers and Chromosome 16:
http://www.blisstree.com/autismvox/like ... -like-son/

I have an ASD and a loose co-morbid dx for ADHD.

I diagnosed myself with ADHD, made a good enough case for it to my psychiatrist to refer me to an ADHD assessment unit where they diagnosed me. I don't care what anyone else says about ADHD or Ritalin. All I know is, ever since I started on the lowest dose (which I still take) of Concerta, I can actually concentrate like everyone else. After so many years, it's like absolute bliss being able to make progress in things. I don't feel like a failure now, regardless of other problems I have like AS and OCD and depression.

Interesting stuff. Thanks, y'all.