By Patty Laushman
Though there is no overlap in the diagnostic criteria of autism and ADHD, individuals diagnosed with one of these conditions have many traits in common with individuals identified with the other. When autism and ADHD co-occur in the same individual, these common traits are often amplified and create a heightened, more intense experience for the individual internally. Individuals with both autism and ADHD can also experience some distinctive challenges as well as unique strengths.
Through this two-part series, I will delve into the traits, behaviors, and experiences of those who have both autism and ADHD, commonly referred to as AuDHD, where both common and conflicting traits combine to create a single experience.
In part 1, we will look at the traits these two diagnoses have in common and how this can impact AuDHD individuals. In part 2, we will look at a source of great challenge for many AuDHD individuals in the form of conflicting traits that compete for dominance as well as unique strengths that can develop as they learn to navigate the world.
My goal is to offer insight into the lives of those who navigate these intertwined paths. So let’s get into it!
Common Traits Between Autism and ADHD
Despite autism and ADHD having very different diagnostic criteria, some of their traits and behaviors overlap, while others contradict and conflict with each other. In this post we are looking at the overlapping traits. Where traits overlap, they can heighten the intensity of the experience for the AuDHD individual.
Sensory Differences
Sensory processing differences are common in both conditions. Individuals with autism and ADHD might be more sensitive (or hypersensitive) than more neurotypical individuals to sensory stimuli like loud noises, bright lights, or certain textures, which means it takes less input for their brain to register the input. For people with senses that are hypersensitive to input, this can lead to feelings of overwhelm or discomfort in environments that may seem unremarkable to others.
They may also be less sensitive (hyposensitive) to inputs from any of the senses. This just means they need more input than a neurotypical person before their brain recognizes the input. These individuals can also have challenges rooted in being less sensitive to sensory inputs. For example, they may need to be much hungrier to recognize they are hungry and need to eat, or fuller in order to recognize they are full. As another example, they may need to experience more extreme temperatures to recognize that they need to take action to regulate their body temperature.
Executive Dysfunction
Both autism and ADHD are associated with executive functioning challenges, when skills like organization, planning, and prioritizing tasks are not as strong as the individual needs them to be in order to function well. Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive processes that govern an individual's ability to regulate their thoughts and actions, manage their emotions, and make decisions in a goal-directed manner.
When these skills fail to fully develop, it can lead to struggles with daily tasks related to school, work, or life in general, and this often has a huge negative impact on their quality of life. They are often accused of being lazy or not trying hard enough, even when they are literally trying as hard as they can.
Emotional Dysregulation
Another trait common to both autism and ADHD is emotional dysregulation. ADHD often involves difficulties with attention and impulsivity, which can lead to quick, intense emotional responses. Autism, on the other hand, can contribute to challenges in understanding and processing emotions, both in oneself and in others.
This combination can result in a more complex emotional landscape where emotions are felt intensely. It can cause disproportionate and often difficult-to-control emotional responses to situations, leading to challenges in managing their feelings. In what may seem like innocuous situations to the people around them, sudden anger, overwhelming sadness, or extreme anxiety can erupt and disrupt their social interactions and daily functioning.
Rejection Sensitivity
Another experience common to both those with autism and ADHD is rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD). While not a diagnosis in the DSM, it’s characterized by extreme sensitivity and emotional pain that is triggered by the perception of being rejected or criticized by people who are important to them. When combined with social challenges, RSD can cause individuals with both autism and ADHD a great deal of distress that contributes to challenges with emotional regulation.
Social Challenges
Both autism and ADHD often lead to difficulties in social interactions, though for very different reasons. Social challenges are part of the autism diagnostic criteria because autistic individuals tend to struggle with understanding things like nonverbal communication and social cues. Individuals with ADHD who have social challenges usually experience them as a result of impulsivity and inattention. ADHD can make it challenging to maintain focus in conversations, which can be misconstrued as disinterest or rudeness. The net effect is that AuDHD individuals are often very misunderstood. Social challenges are also often related to emotional dysregulation.
Attention Challenges
Both conditions can result in attention challenges, but again for different reasons. Autism involves narrow interests where the individual is usually passionately interested in just one or a few topics, and everything else registers as “boring.” People with ADHD are often interested in many topics, but they struggle to stay focused on any one thing for a long time. Their brains are constantly seeking novelty, which makes it hard to pay attention to one thing for long periods of time unless it is something they are naturally very interested in, in which case they can end up hyperfocusing on it. Many AuDHDers will cycle rapidly through special interests as opposed to having monotropic special interests.
Hyperfocus
Autistic individuals often have special interests or passions that bring them great joy to spend time with. With laser-like concentration, the world fades away and one subject or activity consumes all attention, often to the exclusion of other tasks or awareness of time. This state is called hyperfocus. When an individual with ADHD is interested in something, they can also enter a state of hyperfocus.
This state often results in a great deal of productivity, and a sense of fulfillment, identity, and purpose. It can also result in the accumulation of extensive knowledge in their area of interest and a deep level of skill. The downside, though, is that they may neglect other responsibilities and self-care activities during this time.
Stimming
Stimming is any type of repetitive behavior or movement that provides some sort of benefit to the individual. Like some of the other items on this list, there are differences between how an autistic individual and an individual with ADHD stim. Individuals with ADHD tend to stim as a way to help them focus, whereas autistic individuals do so as a coping mechanism or to soothe themselves.
Final Thoughts About When Autism and ADHD Overlap
As we’ve explored in this first part of the series, the overlapping traits of autism and ADHD create a unique experience for AuDHD individuals. The traits that often exist in individuals with one or the other condition can be amplified when one brain comprises both conditions. From sensory differences to executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, and hyperfocus, these amplified traits combine to create a more intense experience for the individual.
But while the shared traits of autism and ADHD may create intensity, the real complexity to living as an AuDHDer lies in the contradictions – traits that directly conflict with each other, pushing and pulling the individual in opposite directions. How does one navigate a need for sameness alongside a craving for novelty? Or balance impulsivity with a drive for meticulous planning?
In Part 2, we will dive into these conflicting traits and how they can become both a source of great challenge and an opportunity for growth. We’ll also explore the unique strengths that can emerge as AuDHD individuals learn to navigate a world that wasn’t designed for them but can be transformed through their creativity, resilience, and determination. Read on for part 2.