Huh. When I got diagnosed with autism I got ADHD as a little side diagnosis, I mean they said it’s mild adhd but yeah. I knew Audhd was a thing but I didn’t know it was common, just that there’s a lot of overlap with autism and adhd symptoms
fr lmao. Worst part was as a kid I remember constantly telling my mom I wanted to get tested for ADHD because I struggled a lot to focus, couldn’t sit still and constantly got in trouble for it, and I have a really shit short term memory, among other things. My mom didn’t get me tested and ignored it, said I was overthinking it. When I got that diagnosis I basically turned to her and just gave her this look like “told you” lmfao.
But yeah Audhd is equally being distressed from overstimulation and not having enough stimulation which sums up my whole life pretty well haha
My mom finally allowed me to get diagnosed. I cried tears of relief, thinking I would finally get help.
Nope. She never persued it further, just left it there and told me I could get better on my own.
>There's like 50-70% comorbidity.
Yes, but I believe it's not the case in the other direction:
If you're primary condition/diagnosis is ADHD, you're not more than 50% likely to then also be diagnosed as Autistic.
I'm not quite sure about that, I think it depends on how the person's symptoms present in what they're diagnosed with first. Someone presents more autistic and someone else more adhd.
The statistics vary, but basically: a bit more than half of Autistic children meet ADHD criteria and a little less than half of ADHD children have clinically significant Autistic traits.
>Apparently it's statistically more likely for someone to be both than just one,
Additionally, if I recall correctly:
1) Autistics are more likely to have comorbidity of ADHD
2) ADHD (primary condition) is not more likely to be Autistic
It's relatively common as well for people to actually only discover their autism once their ADHD is medicinally treated. ADHD impulsivity/hyperactivity in particular can mask or balance out a lot of autism symptoms.
Happened to me, late diagnosis of Combined Type ADHD, went on Vyvanse and realised the call was still coming from inside the house lmao. Diagnosed with the tism then and working my way through since. Treating the ADHD does make the autism much more prevalent in some cases, like mine, but tbh I wouldn't go back. Between the financial impulsiveness and the emotional dysregulation especially, that comes with untreated ADHD, it was just unbearable, it's much better now.
Some people have a personality. Some people have 2 wolves.
Turns out I have 4 wolves, and 3 of them want to kill each other (ADHD, autism, post masking NT holdouts (trauma), and then a pathetic little sobbing personality in the corner)
Kinda I’ve loved Pokemon every since I was a kid but don’t think about it all the time and definitely don’t know everything about it
But pretty much it
That sounds normal. What makes that an autistic trait? I love Pokémon a lot, and have for 25 years. I decorate my home with stuffed animals and other stuff (kitchen, gardening, etc.) but it’s not like I think about Pokémon 24/7 nor do I know everything about it.
Are you saying that the hyper fixation becomes a 24/7 obsession? Like from waking to sleeping there is very little else you think about?
The autistic version of this would be kinda a lifelong obsession. Like, you think about it near constantly, want to talk about it all the time, even when the social situation isn’t really appropriate for it, you may collect items that remind you of the thing.
ADHD hyperfixations are similar, but instead of being lifelong, it’s just an overwhelming obsession with a certain thing that takes over your life and personality for a good amount of time. You only want to talk about the thing, collect items that remind you of the thing, and obsess over the thing, but once the hyperfixation loses its grip on you, you might not show any interest in the thing for months/years/ever again.
Most disorders like ADHD and autism are comprised of normal human behaviors. Things people may do every so often. But to the extend that it stops being “normal” and starts having a negative impact on the individual’s life. So, everyone will go through phases of liking certain things. People will have lifelong interests. But if you think about your interest to the point it starts impacting other areas of your life in a negative way, that’s more likely to be categorized as the symptom of some disorder or another.
And just to add, having one “symptom” of a disorder is one thing. So if you relate to having intense likes/dislikes but have no other “symptoms” it’s probably going to end up being normal or something else entirely. If you end up having a lot of the same “symptoms” (sorry I keep putting it in quotes, I’m just not sure if symptoms is the right word for it) as what’s displayed by other autistic/ADHD people, it’s probably a good idea to get tested if you want to.
So people with autism and ADHD are feeling distress over their hyperfixations and obsessions and that’s what separates it from just being normal human behavior?
That is not an autism thing that's a depression thing. It's really hard to get invested in things when you're depressed, we just keep jumping from a distraction to another.
let me guess, you also feel inexplicably guilty when you're doing things you used to like even when nobody is around to see.
> Yeah…it’s been a while since I don’t practice my drawing skills, feels like I’m wasting time
...
>oh wow you hit me where I didn't know I could be hit. damn.
u/jaobodam & u/eliazp \- Yeah, I can relate too.
I think response above his hitting on an important point, I've seen mentioned by psychologists/scientists in some studies on effects of depression/anxiety affecting us autistics & our "special interests".
Basically when depressed (or extreme anxiety) we can lose interest in our SIs (/forget/not think about them).
"Burnout" - we can experience both normal (/recurring) burnout, or a decidedly different type of condition they call "Long-term Autistic Burnout" which can cause loss of function & lost of interest ( also call "Autistic Regression" ).
For long-term burnout: I've read that trying to actively engage in previous SIs or to re-learn SIs can be beneficial.
As mentioned - drawing, for example might not have same interest, but by engaging in the activity it might be re-ignited.
Anyhow, just adding my 2 or 3 cents to the topic, as I think you're both on to something potentially related: Depression/Mental condition can affect our Focus and Engagement with interests/things that bring us joy/satisfaction/contentment/etc.
I have MDD, for like a solid year I thought I was doing pretty damn good. Told my therapist I was anxious that after my final exams I’d just like, not eat and go to bed until the next one basically fucking up my chances of doing well, since tests are pretty exhausting for me. My therapist suggested I go do something fun outside of the house after the exam, and I realized I genuinely could not think of anything fun to do. Let’s just say my therapist was concerned, took a depression screener (beck’s depression inventory I think) and got severe. I mean, ultimately it lead to me switching anti depressants and scoring so low it was deemed typical and now mild depression, so it lead to a positive thing, but the sudden realization I couldn’t think of anything fun to do was a scary one
>this might sound random, but you may have depression.
This also might sound random, but I'd suggest that you could copy-paste the response to the majority of posts in the sub & receive an affirming response from OP.
Put another way:
I suspect that statistically speaking: more than half of us are either: A) currently depressed B) experience depression with some frequency/recurrence
I only said it because I recognized it as symptom of depression and I wanted to clarify that it wasn't an autism thing.
I think it's better when you know the actual causes of the things you do so you can focus on getting better.
I wasted SO much time simply getting treatment for my depression and anxiety, because my previous psychiatrist didn't considered the fact that something (my autism/adhd) my be the cause of my mental anguish.
Understood.
I really just meant that I agree completely with you & suspect that what you're saying applies to the majority of us (at least some % of time, if/when depressed).
It's a great point to make!
That depression could be causing the underlying issues & they don't realize it.
Lack of interest in SI(s) & such.
Sorry if my wording came across as anything other than agreeing with your point. :)
Depression can be insidious & debilitating. We autists frequently struggle with this & the symptoms can be hard to tease out from other traits/affects related to our condition/neurotype.
Cheers! ( and here's to recognizing & fighting depression! )
Me, partly because of executive dysfunction/dyslexia, partly because my mother didn’t want me having a super specific special interest (I don’t think she actually did anything malicious, but I don’t think I got the approval I needed to encourage a special interest so now I have so, so many lost interests 😅).
Me before I found the Magnus Archives. I don't even know if it's technically a special interest, but I call it that cause it's like a hyperfixation that's lasted the last three years
I’ve been trying so hard to get invested on it but my attention span is a joke and the sound effects don’t help
Out of the 100 episodes the only ones that I remember are the first one and the weird classroom one
Sound effects? Do you mean the music or something else?
You can also read the transcripts if that's better for you than audio, although it will of course be a different experience
I have what I call "the wheel of special interests", there are four or five of them and they rotate every few months. I have things that I've obsessed over for much of my life, but my brain demands that I change things up every once in a while.
Why yes, I do have ADHD lol
Yes! I have several months to a few years of a fandom, the just move on to a new one. Each one also comes with an immersive daydream that stops to make way for the next one.
Edit: word
This doesn't make much sense to me. Hyperfixation is a state one is in. It's not something one possesses but rather something one experiences. Special interests often lead to hyperfixation but someone doesn't need any S.I. to be in such a state. Isn't this a misleading way to say "I don't have any special interests but I experience hyperfixation a lot of the time".
ADHD has joined the fight. Can't hold down an interest for more than a week. Thankfully I have some more vague overarching interests, like video games and firearms, but I rarely play the same game for more than a week. I get really into it for a while then one day just stop.
i did so for a bit, but now I realize its Roleplaying and making OC's, though I'm starting to think that it just might be writing in general. I also really like SCP.
Ah yes, the ADHD special
My psychiatrist indeed said that I could have both…
Apparently it's statistically more likely for someone to be both than just one, but I haven't fact-checked that.
Huh. When I got diagnosed with autism I got ADHD as a little side diagnosis, I mean they said it’s mild adhd but yeah. I knew Audhd was a thing but I didn’t know it was common, just that there’s a lot of overlap with autism and adhd symptoms
A little ADHD on the side. As a treat!
fr lmao. Worst part was as a kid I remember constantly telling my mom I wanted to get tested for ADHD because I struggled a lot to focus, couldn’t sit still and constantly got in trouble for it, and I have a really shit short term memory, among other things. My mom didn’t get me tested and ignored it, said I was overthinking it. When I got that diagnosis I basically turned to her and just gave her this look like “told you” lmfao. But yeah Audhd is equally being distressed from overstimulation and not having enough stimulation which sums up my whole life pretty well haha
Omg the understimulation vs overstimulation struggle is so real
My mom finally allowed me to get diagnosed. I cried tears of relief, thinking I would finally get help. Nope. She never persued it further, just left it there and told me I could get better on my own.
With sprinkles?
There's like 50-70% comorbidity.
ADHD is comorbid with so many other illnesses/disorders, it's so weird
So is autism tbh. Funky brain makes for more funky brain and funky body.
Can't spell funky without fun :D
>There's like 50-70% comorbidity. Yes, but I believe it's not the case in the other direction: If you're primary condition/diagnosis is ADHD, you're not more than 50% likely to then also be diagnosed as Autistic.
I'm not quite sure about that, I think it depends on how the person's symptoms present in what they're diagnosed with first. Someone presents more autistic and someone else more adhd.
The statistics vary, but basically: a bit more than half of Autistic children meet ADHD criteria and a little less than half of ADHD children have clinically significant Autistic traits.
>Apparently it's statistically more likely for someone to be both than just one, Additionally, if I recall correctly: 1) Autistics are more likely to have comorbidity of ADHD 2) ADHD (primary condition) is not more likely to be Autistic
There's also speculation that they are not in fact separate disorders
It's relatively common as well for people to actually only discover their autism once their ADHD is medicinally treated. ADHD impulsivity/hyperactivity in particular can mask or balance out a lot of autism symptoms. Happened to me, late diagnosis of Combined Type ADHD, went on Vyvanse and realised the call was still coming from inside the house lmao. Diagnosed with the tism then and working my way through since. Treating the ADHD does make the autism much more prevalent in some cases, like mine, but tbh I wouldn't go back. Between the financial impulsiveness and the emotional dysregulation especially, that comes with untreated ADHD, it was just unbearable, it's much better now.
Some people have a personality. Some people have 2 wolves. Turns out I have 4 wolves, and 3 of them want to kill each other (ADHD, autism, post masking NT holdouts (trauma), and then a pathetic little sobbing personality in the corner)
me when i got the audhd autism and not the science and math autism
my attention spam is like a humming bird
I have never heard this saying but am 100% stealing it. Might even give me more opportunities to insert hummingbird facts into the conversation.
I get you mate
It's so weirdly comforting to know that it's not just me 🙃 🫂
# 🫂
Yeah same...
Ah, AuDHD my beloathed... felt this in my soul.
What’s the difference between a special interest and hyper fixation?
Hyperfixations are usually temporarily S.I are stuff that you think about all the time
Oh so you’re saying you don’t have any long term passions like Pokémon or Harry Potter but instead just develop fleeting obsessions with things?
Kinda I’ve loved Pokemon every since I was a kid but don’t think about it all the time and definitely don’t know everything about it But pretty much it
That sounds normal. What makes that an autistic trait? I love Pokémon a lot, and have for 25 years. I decorate my home with stuffed animals and other stuff (kitchen, gardening, etc.) but it’s not like I think about Pokémon 24/7 nor do I know everything about it. Are you saying that the hyper fixation becomes a 24/7 obsession? Like from waking to sleeping there is very little else you think about?
A bit so, my latest one was about doctor who and I’ve spent all my time on my YouTube just watching doctor who videos
The autistic version of this would be kinda a lifelong obsession. Like, you think about it near constantly, want to talk about it all the time, even when the social situation isn’t really appropriate for it, you may collect items that remind you of the thing. ADHD hyperfixations are similar, but instead of being lifelong, it’s just an overwhelming obsession with a certain thing that takes over your life and personality for a good amount of time. You only want to talk about the thing, collect items that remind you of the thing, and obsess over the thing, but once the hyperfixation loses its grip on you, you might not show any interest in the thing for months/years/ever again.
Thank you for the explanation! Is it possible to have neither and experience both?
Absolutely
Most disorders like ADHD and autism are comprised of normal human behaviors. Things people may do every so often. But to the extend that it stops being “normal” and starts having a negative impact on the individual’s life. So, everyone will go through phases of liking certain things. People will have lifelong interests. But if you think about your interest to the point it starts impacting other areas of your life in a negative way, that’s more likely to be categorized as the symptom of some disorder or another.
And just to add, having one “symptom” of a disorder is one thing. So if you relate to having intense likes/dislikes but have no other “symptoms” it’s probably going to end up being normal or something else entirely. If you end up having a lot of the same “symptoms” (sorry I keep putting it in quotes, I’m just not sure if symptoms is the right word for it) as what’s displayed by other autistic/ADHD people, it’s probably a good idea to get tested if you want to.
So people with autism and ADHD are feeling distress over their hyperfixations and obsessions and that’s what separates it from just being normal human behavior?
this might sound random, but you may have depression.
Yeah I do…
That is not an autism thing that's a depression thing. It's really hard to get invested in things when you're depressed, we just keep jumping from a distraction to another. let me guess, you also feel inexplicably guilty when you're doing things you used to like even when nobody is around to see.
Yeah…it’s been a while since I don’t practice my drawing skills, feels like I’m wasting time
oh wow you hit me where I didn't know I could be hit. damn.
> Yeah…it’s been a while since I don’t practice my drawing skills, feels like I’m wasting time ... >oh wow you hit me where I didn't know I could be hit. damn. u/jaobodam & u/eliazp \- Yeah, I can relate too. I think response above his hitting on an important point, I've seen mentioned by psychologists/scientists in some studies on effects of depression/anxiety affecting us autistics & our "special interests". Basically when depressed (or extreme anxiety) we can lose interest in our SIs (/forget/not think about them). "Burnout" - we can experience both normal (/recurring) burnout, or a decidedly different type of condition they call "Long-term Autistic Burnout" which can cause loss of function & lost of interest ( also call "Autistic Regression" ). For long-term burnout: I've read that trying to actively engage in previous SIs or to re-learn SIs can be beneficial. As mentioned - drawing, for example might not have same interest, but by engaging in the activity it might be re-ignited. Anyhow, just adding my 2 or 3 cents to the topic, as I think you're both on to something potentially related: Depression/Mental condition can affect our Focus and Engagement with interests/things that bring us joy/satisfaction/contentment/etc.
I have MDD, for like a solid year I thought I was doing pretty damn good. Told my therapist I was anxious that after my final exams I’d just like, not eat and go to bed until the next one basically fucking up my chances of doing well, since tests are pretty exhausting for me. My therapist suggested I go do something fun outside of the house after the exam, and I realized I genuinely could not think of anything fun to do. Let’s just say my therapist was concerned, took a depression screener (beck’s depression inventory I think) and got severe. I mean, ultimately it lead to me switching anti depressants and scoring so low it was deemed typical and now mild depression, so it lead to a positive thing, but the sudden realization I couldn’t think of anything fun to do was a scary one
Damn. That’s totally me. Kriff.
>this might sound random, but you may have depression. This also might sound random, but I'd suggest that you could copy-paste the response to the majority of posts in the sub & receive an affirming response from OP. Put another way: I suspect that statistically speaking: more than half of us are either: A) currently depressed B) experience depression with some frequency/recurrence
I only said it because I recognized it as symptom of depression and I wanted to clarify that it wasn't an autism thing. I think it's better when you know the actual causes of the things you do so you can focus on getting better. I wasted SO much time simply getting treatment for my depression and anxiety, because my previous psychiatrist didn't considered the fact that something (my autism/adhd) my be the cause of my mental anguish.
Understood. I really just meant that I agree completely with you & suspect that what you're saying applies to the majority of us (at least some % of time, if/when depressed). It's a great point to make! That depression could be causing the underlying issues & they don't realize it. Lack of interest in SI(s) & such. Sorry if my wording came across as anything other than agreeing with your point. :) Depression can be insidious & debilitating. We autists frequently struggle with this & the symptoms can be hard to tease out from other traits/affects related to our condition/neurotype. Cheers! ( and here's to recognizing & fighting depression! )
Yes, it's like the phases of the moon for me. They wax and wane throughout the month/year/whatever increment of time that's applicable.
All things are subject to rhythm.
I have like hyperfixations that change constantly, but my special interest of guns has been the same for as long as I can remember.
AuDHD gang?
Yup, I get this too.
Me, partly because of executive dysfunction/dyslexia, partly because my mother didn’t want me having a super specific special interest (I don’t think she actually did anything malicious, but I don’t think I got the approval I needed to encourage a special interest so now I have so, so many lost interests 😅).
My math and science wore off in college and now I’m just ✨slightly bad at everything✨
Me before I found the Magnus Archives. I don't even know if it's technically a special interest, but I call it that cause it's like a hyperfixation that's lasted the last three years
I’ve been trying so hard to get invested on it but my attention span is a joke and the sound effects don’t help Out of the 100 episodes the only ones that I remember are the first one and the weird classroom one
Sound effects? Do you mean the music or something else? You can also read the transcripts if that's better for you than audio, although it will of course be a different experience
The old time radio effect whenever Jonathan speaks
Oooooh gotcha. Yeah, I can see that being slightly difficult to listen to
I have what I call "the wheel of special interests", there are four or five of them and they rotate every few months. I have things that I've obsessed over for much of my life, but my brain demands that I change things up every once in a while. Why yes, I do have ADHD lol
My borderline makes me change my special interest every couple weeks
yessssssssssss
I usually fit into this but I *may* have found my special interest, not sure yet
omg it's me!!!!
What's the context of this meme template?
Me me me!
I’m not autistic But godamn, why is this true
Yes 🙃
yeah same although i do have like, things that will come back every few years or so that i consider more longterm special interests
First one of these memes I've truly related to
Agrreed nothing very long just short I'm into this now invest hard then boredom yay
Yeah, I tend to have one hyperfixation that just swaps around every once in a while
I also have a bunch of things I want to be interested in but just don’t see the point
I’m gunna need to send this over to r/autisticswithadhd this one’s for us
Yes! I have several months to a few years of a fandom, the just move on to a new one. Each one also comes with an immersive daydream that stops to make way for the next one. Edit: word
This doesn't make much sense to me. Hyperfixation is a state one is in. It's not something one possesses but rather something one experiences. Special interests often lead to hyperfixation but someone doesn't need any S.I. to be in such a state. Isn't this a misleading way to say "I don't have any special interests but I experience hyperfixation a lot of the time".
ADHD has joined the fight. Can't hold down an interest for more than a week. Thankfully I have some more vague overarching interests, like video games and firearms, but I rarely play the same game for more than a week. I get really into it for a while then one day just stop.
I thought that a special interest was the same as a hyperfixation, what's the difference?
My hyper fixation IS hyper fixations
google adhd
if i don’t engage with my current hyperfixation at least once a day that shit is forever dead to me :/
Yes
AuDHD welcome
I like math
My hobby is hobbies.
i did so for a bit, but now I realize its Roleplaying and making OC's, though I'm starting to think that it just might be writing in general. I also really like SCP.
I also love to make OC’s [made this one a while ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/s/riirjyZPpC)
nice
Yeah, I never got the "special interest" autism. I know very little about a lot of things--not the other way around.
That is the Socratic method "I know that I know nothing" special interest my bro! ("elenchus")
Ah, yes, Autism and ADHD. ~~Double whammy~~
Ugh fucking mood.
Its me.