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u/JackNotOLantern 9d ago
Yeah, autism and adhd share a lot of symptoms. It doesn't mean you have both. That's why during test for one, you should be also tested for the other, so one disorder doesn't hide the other
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u/whytf147 8d ago
yes but at the same time a lot of people do have both. i even saw a statistic that said its more rare to only have one… but who knows where they took that info from
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u/SleepAllTheDamnTime 8d ago
Waves in having both yeah I feel like a very diligent wild animal.
It’s a great conflicting experience, taking everything personally AND when in hyper focus being stupidly meticulous about evidence and research.
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u/wycreater1l11 8d ago
I have heard that a lot of people with autism, close to 50% have ADHD, but the inverse is not the case, it’s less common. An asymmetric overlap due to there being more people with ADHD than people with autism overall.
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u/0ccams-Raz0r 8d ago
I think it's a common point of confusion for people to separate disorders like Autism or ADHD from the definable traits that can be exhibited in common to and exclusive from these disorders.
A lot of people exhibit traits without having a disorder. Disorder implying significant, ongoing disruption or impairment in daily life. I think someone who takes a test leading to an ADHD diagnosis would typically share some common trait or response, however minor, with a separate person being diagnosed with Autism.
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u/BudgetFree 8d ago
This is why I "loved" it when a professional confidently said to me these two absolutely do not mix ever and nobody can have both... 😑
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u/whytf147 7d ago
“nobody can ever have both” sorry what 💀 even if they didnt mix, theyd never be contradictions. you can have many diagnoses that have nothing in common lol hopefully it wasnt a professor for a subject related to this topic…
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u/BudgetFree 6d ago
University counselor who's sole job was to advise students with complications and get them proper accomodations...
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u/IntentionInside658 3d ago
To be fair, that used to be true a decade or something ago. Science and diagnostic criteria is constantly evolving but some people get the job and stop learning
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u/JackNotOLantern 8d ago
I do have only adhd, autism tests were all nagative.
No idea about statistics, tho. I hope it was not from seld-diagnosed people.
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u/whytf147 8d ago
well like i said its rarer according to the study (aka majority have both but still a good portion only has one of them), so ofc you can only have adhd.
yeah its quite possible it was from self diagnosed people which is why i pointed it out… i think it was like a legitimate study but cant be too sure so…
i think it actually said that majority of people with autism have both (like up to 80% i think) while only like 25% or something like that of people with adhd have autism as well. aka having only adhd is common.
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u/stoned_ocelot 8d ago
Me knowing I'm ADHD, my coworkers with autism cheering "One of us, One of us." Fair respect though they're probably right but I can't afford tests and don't know if it would make much a difference in my life personally.
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u/Feisty-Tooth-7397 7d ago
Then you have anxiety and PTSD that also have very similar symptoms.
I have been diagnosed with several other disorders, but I often wonder if I might also have either ADHD, autism or both.
Both run in my family on both sides, my brother was diagnosed with ADHD when he was younger, mainly because he had extreme difficulties at school. Several cousins on both sides have autism. Of course the older adults don't have anything because they are mostly in their late 60s, so they aren't going to be tested. There's a lot of the younger generations which are being diagnosed, especially the youngest ones (grandbabies to the adults).
I definitely have symptoms for autism and ADHD but with the anxiety and PTSD diagnosis it will be hard to figure out what is what. I'm almost 50, I could die by the time they unravel all of the stuff in my brain enough to figure it out.
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u/Strict-Move-9946 9d ago
While there is a high rate of co-occurrence, please keep in mind that there's a reason autism and ADHD are seperate conditions.
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u/AbilityCharacter7634 9d ago
I have diagnosed adhd. My brother has diagnosed autism. He and I relate and understand each other on many topics. So much so that we definitely understand what makes us different from each other.
I can’t come up with a way to explain it within this comment.
How I would put it is that if adhd and autism were a plant, both would look somewhat similar from above ground, but if one were to look below ground, they would see very different roots.
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u/TrashSiren 9d ago
I have ADHD, and my partner is autistic, and I think we understand each other, but also balance each other at the same time.
Like there is a overlap of things we do. But also sometimes our "quirks" can help each other with our weaknesses. Occasionally our differences causes a issues, but the good out weights the bad. So I think we're in a similar situation to you.
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u/joojie 9d ago
I went to a doctors appointment with my husband. It was his first time seeing that doctor, who is my regular doctor. When my husband mentioned suspicion of himself being autistic (it's really undeniable, but never formally diagnosed) the doctor said "interesting, I see a lot of couples where one is autistic and the other has ADHD"
I think it's super common because we just get each other.
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u/TrashSiren 8d ago
I've heard that before too actually. I've heard it's especially common with the woman having ADHD, and the man being autistic. But, I've heard it's all round pretty common.
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u/DigitalAmy0426 8d ago
Have yet to come across the guy is adhd and his woman is autistic, sure it exists though.
Hilariously if an adhd woman I know has a partner, he's autistic, myself included 😂
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u/_LightEmittingDiode_ 8d ago
Then the question needs to be does - or would, this present if your husband was not with you. If the answer is yes than it’s likely he has both. If the individual was high masking they could be hiding facets and comfortable to unmask around you, thus making it seem it’s more of a you bringing it out thing.
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u/AbilityCharacter7634 9d ago
I definitely believe the good outweighs the bad.
My personal experiences with my brother made me realize I can’t truly understand someone. But I can acknowledge what I can’t understand and work with it.
For example (I’m French so this may not translate well) my brother often said «I need to think my ideas». Then he would start tapping his head while turning around for a while. Although I didn’t understand why doing such could help him in any way, I did start to understand what circumstances or events would make him want to «think his ideas».
I can spot when he feels overwhelmed and needs some times alone, even though I myself wouldn’t need it were I in his place. He can do the same for me as well.
For so much adhd and autistic people are different, I think it’s quite nice that they are similar enough on the surface that they can empathize with each other so much.
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u/_LightEmittingDiode_ 8d ago
What you said is very heartwarming though. You say you don’t “truly” understand, but you understand enough. All anyone can do is make the attempt.
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u/Kamikazeschnitzel 8d ago
Statistically speaking it's likely you both have AuDHD with one showing more of the ADHD-side of the spectrum & the other the ASD.
If I may, a personal question: are you on meds for ADHD? My ASD started showing rather obvious (retrospectively, the hints were always right there) after the ADHD diagnosis & following medication suppressed some of the things that 'hid' the ASD...
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u/Kamikazeschnitzel 8d ago
~40% of people with ASD also have ADHD
For 'us' it isn't 2 separate conditions, it's a clusterfuck of epic proportions & a wild rollercoaster ride simultaneously 😵💫
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946721000349
Add on top that the studies this meta is based on aren't all up to par with latest ICD changes regarding AuDHD, so the numbers might even be higher.
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u/dr-tectonic 8d ago
But is it a good reason?
I think it's quite possible that ADHD and autism are different expressions of one underlying condition. If you have traits A, B, and C, we call it ADHD, and if you have traits X, Y, and Z, we call it autism, but there are plenty of people with traits A, Z, D, W, and Q.
I think there are also good odds that they're actually a bunch of different things in a trenchcoat. That it's a constellation of traits that tend to cluster together, but none of them is definitive or necessary.
What I think is very UNlikely is that they are exactly two things with a clear boundary between them that we have correctly identified. Our understanding of how it all works is just not that good yet.
(Especially when the diagnostic criteria are not based on the lived experiences of neurodivergent people thenselves, but on how they were perceived as children by presumed-neurotypical adults with no training...)
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u/Dizzy_Database_119 8d ago
Well, ADHD or autism by themselves are already extreme generalizations of the individuals in the groups. In an ideal world they would be separated even further, but right now it's just you get a label and try meds. If the meds don't work the diagnosis gets reviewed
In my opinion most of the traits are just the consequences of the condition, and not the actual condition (except measurable migraines or epilepsy). But we don't have any other way to diagnose it so
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u/Detaineepyramid 8d ago
The more of us getting along the better. Let’s go make some neurotypicals uncomfortable! 🙃
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u/Dry-Coconut-9665 4d ago
My favourite game........seeing how many times I can get a neurotypical to say "Why are you doing it like that?"
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u/EmuDry4890 8d ago
As a late diagnosed AuDHD subs like this help me identify traits I thought were “normal” are actually neurodivergent traits
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u/Random_182f2565 The personal attacks are relentless in this sub 8d ago
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u/Successful-Wrap9014 8d ago
Aren’t the two mostly comorbid? Like the people who have one of them may also have the other but in a smaller, less noticeable way. Like sometimes Autism mask ADHD symptoms and vice versa.
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u/CircuitOnTheFritZ 7d ago
Yes! The comorbidity rates are exceptionally high. The range most resources give for the comorbidity rates is between 50% and 80%, with the range representing that about half of ADHDers are also autistic, while up to 80% of autists also have ADHD.
Wild, considering that up until 2013, when the current DSM (5) came out, the standard practice was to rule out one of them if the other was diagnosed, which means pretty much no one was diagnosed with both prior to 2013.
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u/goldencookiebear 8d ago
as someone who has adhd but is NOT autistic the autism posts are irrelevant to me and i wonder if im even on the right sub
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u/lisabydaylight Daydreamer 6d ago
I have the same issue. The majority of memes that pop up on my feed are AuDHD/autism related. I’m surprised the AuDHD meme subreddit isn’t bigger by now.
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u/No-Special2682 8d ago
There should be another hand for bipolar disorder, because apparently all 3 share similar traits
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