How to tell the difference between high-functioning autism and ADHD?

Children with ADHD often have difficulty paying attention to the same thing for too long, and they may get distracted easily. Autistic children may have a limited scope of interest. They may seem to obsess over things that they enjoy and have difficulty focusing on things that they have no interest in.

Can ADHD be mistaken for autism?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism can look a lot alike. Children with either one can be very active and impulsive, and can have trouble focusing and interacting with other people. In fact, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two.

Can you have high functioning autism and ADHD at the same time?

More than half of all individuals who have been diagnosed with ASD also have signs of ADHD. In fact, ADHD is the most common coexisting condition in children with ASD.

What symptoms of ADHD are the same as autism?

How do you differentiate between ADHD and ASD on the basis of their symptoms?

ADHD-ASD overlap. ADHD is characterised by severe deficits in attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, whereas ASD is associated with impaired communication and social interaction skills, in addition to repetitive and restricted behaviour and interests (American Psychiatric Association or APA, 2013).

Having Autism & ADHD (The Paradox)

Does my child have ASD or ADHD?

For children with ADHD, the root causes may include inattention and inability to organize their thoughts, or impulsivity. For autistic children, the reasons are often different — such as not understanding nonverbal communication or delays in language skills.

What is a child with autistic traits but not autistic?

Some developmental health professionals refer to PDD-NOS as “subthreshold autism." In other words, it's the diagnosis they use for someone who has some but not all characteristics of autism or who has relatively mild symptoms.

How do you know if you're autistic or not?

Main signs of autism

Common signs of autism in adults include: finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling. getting very anxious about social situations. finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own.

What is the difference between Asperger's and ADHD?

Aspergers focuses more on attention problems related to (a) a need for strict routines, (b) language difficulties, (c) obsessive rituals, and (d) self-stimulating behaviors. Conversely, ADHD focuses more on attention problems related to (a) impulsivity and (b) hyperactivity.

Can ADHD be on a spectrum?

This is a great question, and the short answer is “yes.” ADHD symptoms exist on a spectrum or a continuum.

Why is autism often misdiagnosed as ADHD?

They may have some similar characteristics and they may even share some common causes. In some cases, both ADHD and ASD can occur at the same time. Children on the autism spectrum may also struggle with the neurobiological issues that cause ADHD. This can further complicate the process of getting a diagnosis.

Do a lot of autistic people have ADHD?

According to the scientific literature, 50 to 70% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also present with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). From a clinical perspective, this high rate of comorbidity is intriguing.

How do people with ADHD think?

The mind of a person with ADHD is full of the minutiae of life (“Where are my keys?” “Where did I park the car?”), so there is little room left for new thoughts and memories. Something has to be discarded or forgotten to make room for new information. Often the information individuals with ADHD need is in their memory…

Why is eye contact hard for ADHD?

Especially for children, ADHD and eye contact using don't work together too well. Many people with ADHD struggle with social skills in general. Typically, they find it difficult to understand other's emotions, which makes empathy a challenge.

Do people with ADHD avoid eye contact?

1. Eye contact: Avoidance of eye contact is ADHD behaviour – your child/young person may look as if they are ignoring you but some find making eye contact really difficult.

Can ADHD be misdiagnosed as Asperger's?

Asperger's and ADHD

Most children with symptoms formerly associated with Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, receive an ADHD diagnosis — or misdiagnosis — before a pediatrician concludes that it's AS. The symptoms of autism spectrum disorders and ADHD overlap.

What does ADHD and autism look like together in adults?

People who have traits that stretch across both autism and ADHD diagnoses often face more serious challenges than people with either diagnosis alone: They can have greater impairments in adaptive functioning, a term that refers to self-care and daily living skills, and more severe social and cognitive issues.

Is ADHD genetic or developed?

ADHD tends to run in families and, in most cases, it's thought the genes you inherit from your parents are a significant factor in developing the condition. Research shows that parents and siblings of someone with ADHD are more likely to have ADHD themselves.

What to do if I think I'm autistic?

Am I autistic or autistic?

In the autism community, many self-advocates and their allies prefer terminology such as “Autistic,” “Autistic person,” or “Autistic individual” because we understand autism as an inherent part of an individual's identity — the same way one refers to “Muslims,” “African-Americans,” “Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/ ...

Can you be autistic but not have autism?

People with the BAP have some traits common to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but not enough to have the disorder. But it's not comedians who have drawn scientific scrutiny for having the BAP: it's the parents and siblings of people who actually have autism.

What syndrome is mistaken for autism?

One recent study found that up to 50% of children with a genetic disorder called 22q11. 2 deletion syndrome were told they had autism when they didn't. That's because many of the symptoms of 22q11. 2 deletion syndrome, including delayed speech development, can also be signs of autism.

What syndrome is opposite of autism?

In some ways Williams syndrome is the opposite of autism. For example, people with Williams syndrome love to talk and tell stories, whereas those with autism usually have language delay and little imagination. Many people with Williams syndrome draw disjointed pictures, some with autism draw pictures in perfect detail.

Can screen time cause autism like symptoms?

Excessive early-life screen media exposure has been associated with developmental delay and autism symptoms. Improvements in developmental trajectory in young children with ASD and high digital screen exposure have been reported when screen time is replaced with socially oriented activities.

Can autistic kids be hyper?

Sometimes, environmental factors can cause sensitivity to a child diagnosed with autism, such as light and sounds that can be very distracting and uncomfortable. These can cause the child to become temporarily hyperactive or disruptive.