#adhd autism solidarity

[larphis]

As an adhd person I just want to say that I love every autistic person on this website.

You guys are literally the best fandom archivers out there. I’m so serious.

If you are new in just about any fandom search for the one autistic person whose special interest your newfound fandom is and it’ll be like you just met god at a nightclub.

You guys are too powerful and I thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart.

[adhd-worlds]

Which diagnostic criteria are you referencing when you say that ADHD and autism don't have an overlap? As far as I've seen, they do: sensory issues, perception, executive function issues, and so on.

I have two answers for you. The short answer is:

That is simply not true at all. Two Google searches ("autism DSM-V criteria" and "ADHD DSM-V criteria") can easily disprove that.

The long answer is as follows:

I saw you got diagnosed with ADHD recently and congrats! idk about your assessment, but mine didn't ask me about my sensory issues. Nor do they ask about my perception on social cues, or the way I understand things. Most of the questions were geared towards executive dysfunction, how my life has been affected BC I get distracted or the things I struggle with or questions about being hyperactive and impulsive.

Because those questions get the answers needed to see if someone meets the ADHD criteria. The only time they did ask questions about social cues, imagination, sensory issues etc etc was on the pre-assessment questionnaire I had to fill in, there was a part for an autism study,,, it wont even be used or brought up my assessment, it's just that some dude is working with the clinic doing a study.

The overlap that ppl are seeing/report on is more than likely due to the fact that ADHD and autism are comorbid and there are a lot more ppl who have both rather than one or the other. Some countries and areas will only give ppl the diagnosis for one of these and not let them get tested for the other. Other countries, such as Wales, won't let autism folks get annADHD diagnosis because the NHS there sees ADHD as a stepping stone to an autism diagnosis. Some healthcare systems only believe you can have one not both.

Outside of that, there will be people who are more affected by their autism than their ADHD and vice versa and don't realise they have both. So, for eg, when they see autistic people saying "oh, I have autism and I experience these things" and they relate to it,,, they assume it's because there's this massive overlap. But if the overlap was that great, it would be much harder to diagnose ppl with one or the other. It's more than likely that they need to do some research into autism away from the idea of "it's similar to ADHD" and see if they relate to it.

There are a lot of ppl with ADHD who refuse the idea of having autism BC deep down, they have a lot ableist beliefs about autism and it's time for the ADHD community to stop doing that.

TL;DR: ADHD and autism have two very distinct lists of criteria that don't overlap. Even the testing doesn't really focus on (if at all) the criteria for the other dx. Most ppl don't know they have both or think that it's a possibility BC they are (unknowingly) ableist towards autism, haven't read into ADHD properly, their healthcare system doesn't allow for both dx, the list goes on.

[lavendersheep20]

Just took adderall to try and get me to write a stupid essay and now I’m just falling asleep. God why couldn’t I just be a normal person who gets all energetic and does all their homework in one sitting when they take this shift. Why do I literally want to nap after taking schedule II stimulants

[hatchi-matchii]

REDRAWREDRAWREDRAW

the OG

[stinkykittypet]

Shout out to every neurodivergent person who hates conflict but enjoys starting arguments

[strabius-berry]

Erasermic be like

[larissa-the-scribe]

Autism versus ADHD is "oh yay I get to schedule my human interactions again XD" versus "LISTEN if I haven't sat down, made a list of people I need to talk to, and planned out who I'm going to talk to on what days, I will never talk to anyone again, and also I've probably forgotten some of names that should be on my list"

[tails-boogie-board]

I can't draw but I have this scene looping in my brain of Tails sitting at the kitchen table, kicking his feet with a juice box and doing literal quantum physics. And then cut to Sonic who is pacing around the kitchen as a literal blur, but its like someone hit fast forward on a remote. He's rambling about something and is gesturing dramatically but his voice is full chipmunk and seemingly one run-on sentence from hell. Tails isn't acknowledging this whatsoever and is just enjoying his math

[queer-cosette]

I love you ADHD people who thought they were autistic. I love you autistic people who thought they were ADHD. I love you neurodivergent people who mis-self-diagnosed their neurodivergence and only found more efficient coping mechanisms later. I’d kiss you on the forehead but I have ADHD that I used to think was autism and it makes me iffy about physical contact <3

[ahedderick]

Prehistoric Autism

   This article blew me away. It wasn’t behind a paywall, but just in case I’m attaching some screenshots of the most interesting sections. I never thought about autism in terms of visual arts, but it definitely occurred to me that flint-knapping would take the kind of strong focus that autistic people often have.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/prehistoric-autism-cave-paintings-barry-wright-penny-spikins-university-of-york-a8351751.html

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[adhd-worlds]

hello! i just wanted to thank you for that post about how adhd and autism diagnosis criteria dont overlap - it's been on my mind since yesterday and uhh. im Realizing Things. 😅 the thought has been at the back of my mind for a while now due to my communication issues but i dismissed it with 'i got a little autism sprinkled into my adhd thats normal tho, they *are* on the same spectrum after all" but uhh. yeah. i think its gonna be more than that 😬 anyway, im gonna reevaluate my life further ig, thank you again and have a lovely day 💞💞

Hello! I'm glad to be of help! There's a few people in my comments saying that there is an overlap but there isn't! Depending on the study, around 50% of people with ADHD also have autism. Sometimes the %age is a little higher or a little lower.

Over stimulation isn't technically an ADHD symptom. Neither is struggling with eye contact, special interests, struggles with social cues, needing things to be done a certain way. Highly recommend this quiz, the RAADS-R test which is a professional diagnostic test that may be able to help you get some ideas in order. I strongly suggest doing this with a friend because evaluating yourself is hard and others will be more aware of how you come across.

[laughableillusions]

Not all of my knowledge is mine, much of it is procured via osmosis with my sibling. Now do you want to hear about the lore of the Dune series?

[salad-of-potatoes]

Mario bros are the ADHD Autism friendship

[thotperidot]

Did you actually do that task, or just visualise it really vividly in your head and then get distracted by literally any external stimuli?

[tempest-loupnoir]

[katesattic]

Me: I always relate most to my coworkers with ADHD/autsim.

My coworkers with ADHD/autism: Maybe it’s a sign -

Me: - to get diagnosed? Yeah. Problem is, I only remember I need to book a diagnosis when we talk about our shared neurodivergent traits together.