Understanding what happens when autism and ADHD exist together
If you’ve spent any time online looking into autism or ADHD, you may have come across the term AuDHD.
Maybe you’ve seen people using it to describe themselves. Maybe you’ve wondered whether it means something different from simply being autistic and having ADHD. Or maybe you’ve never heard the term before.
So, what exactly is AuDHD?
What does AuDHD mean?
AuDHD is an informal term used to describe someone who is both autistic and has ADHD.
The word itself combines Au from autism and DHD from ADHD.
AuDHD isn’t a separate diagnosis. Instead, it’s a way people often describe the experience of having both neurodevelopmental conditions.
And while autism and ADHD are different, they can overlap in some really interesting, and sometimes complicated, ways.
For me, discovering both was important because looking at autism and ADHD separately didn’t always explain my experiences.
It was the combination that started making sense.
Autism and ADHD are different
Autism and ADHD are both neurodevelopmental conditions, but they aren’t the same thing.
Autism can involve differences in areas such as social communication, sensory processing, repetitive behaviours, routines, interests and the way someone experiences and interacts with the world.
ADHD is associated with differences in attention regulation, impulsivity and executive functioning.
But neither of those descriptions tells you what it actually feels like to live with either one. And that’s where things get interesting.
Because autism and ADHD can sometimes appear to pull you in completely different directions.
When your brain wants two different things
One of the things I find particularly interesting about AuDHD is the internal conflict that can happen between autistic and ADHD traits.
For example, the autistic side of your brain might crave:
- predictability
- routine
- structure
- knowing what is going to happen
- familiar environments
- consistency
while your ADHD brain might crave:
- novelty
- stimulation
- spontaneity
- change
- something interesting to focus on
So you might desperately want a routine…
…and then struggle to follow the routine you’ve created. You might love the idea of having a predictable schedule… …but become incredibly bored when every day looks exactly the same.
You might feel overwhelmed when plans suddenly change… …while simultaneously getting restless when nothing changes for too long.
That contradiction can be incredibly confusing. And it can lead to the feeling that you are somehow constantly fighting with yourself.
“But I can focus!”
Another common misunderstanding about ADHD is that people with ADHD simply can’t focus. That’s not really how it works.
For many people with ADHD, attention isn’t necessarily absent, it can be difficult to regulate.
You might struggle enormously to focus on something that feels boring, repetitive or overwhelming. But give yourself something you’re genuinely interested in and suddenly you can become completely absorbed.
Hours can disappear. You might forget to eat. Forget to drink. Forget to go to bed. Forget that there were other things you were supposed to be doing.
And when you add autistic special interests or deep interests into the mix, that ability to become incredibly absorbed can feel even more intense.
For me, this is one of those things that makes more sense when I think about AuDHD as a whole rather than trying to separate every experience into an “autism thing” or an “ADHD thing.”
The sensory side of AuDHD
Sensory experiences are another area where AuDHD can become complicated. Autistic people can experience sensory input differently. Sounds, lights, smells, textures, crowds and other sensory experiences can sometimes become overwhelming.
ADHD can also involve differences in sensory processing and stimulation seeking. That can mean you might be both easily overwhelmed by sensory input and seek out stimulation.
Again, it can feel contradictory.
You might hate the noise of a busy environment but still need background noise when you’re doing something at home. You might find lots of people talking at once incredibly overwhelming but constantly have music, a podcast or something playing in the background when you’re working.
You might become completely overloaded by stimulation…
…and then seek out more stimulation because your brain doesn’t feel regulated without it.
These experiences don’t always fit neatly into one box.
Executive functioning
Executive functioning is another huge part of the AuDHD conversation.
Executive functioning includes skills involved in things like:
- starting tasks
- organising
- planning
- remembering
- prioritising
- managing time
- switching between tasks
- regulating attention
- completing tasks
Both autism and ADHD can affect executive functioning, although they can do so in different ways.
And this can create some very frustrating experiences. You might know exactly what you need to do. You might even want to do it. You might have the time to do it.
And yet… you can’t seem to start.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re lazy. It doesn’t mean you don’t care. And it doesn’t mean you don’t know how.
Sometimes knowing what needs to happen and actually being able to initiate the task are two very different things.
Why diagnosis can be complicated
One of the reasons AuDHD can be difficult to recognise is that autism and ADHD can sometimes mask or compensate for each other.
For example, someone might have strong autistic preferences for routine and structure, which can make their ADHD related difficulties less obvious.
Or their ADHD traits might make their autistic need for routine look less obvious from the outside. And then there’s masking.
A person might have spent years learning how to appear organised, sociable, calm, flexible or “fine” even when they are putting enormous effort into doing so.
This can be particularly relevant for people who are diagnosed later in life. From the outside, someone might look like they are coping perfectly well. That doesn’t necessarily tell you what is happening underneath.
Being AuDHD doesn’t look one particular way
This is something I really want to emphasise. There is no single “AuDHD personality.”
Not every AuDHD person will experience the same things. Not every autistic person experiences autism in the same way. Not every person with ADHD experiences ADHD in the same way.
And having a few traits that sound familiar doesn’t automatically mean someone is autistic or has ADHD.
That’s why online checklists can be useful for helping people find questions to explore, but they can’t replace a proper assessment.
For me, learning about AuDHD wasn’t about finding a checklist and deciding that every trait applied to me.
It was about noticing patterns across my life. It was about looking at experiences that had always seemed unrelated and realising that there might be a bigger picture.
So, what does AuDHD mean to me?
For me, AuDHD is a framework that has helped me understand myself differently.
It doesn’t explain everything. But it explains enough. It helps me understand why I can crave routine but struggle to maintain it.
Why I can become incredibly focused on something I’m interested in but struggle to start something that feels mundane. Why I can love my work and still find the sensory and social demands of teaching exhausting. Why I can be incredibly organised in some areas and completely chaotic in others. Why I can desperately want quiet while simultaneously needing stimulation.
And why sometimes the things that look like contradictions from the outside actually make perfect sense when you understand how my brain works.
If you’re wondering whether you’re AuDHD
If you’ve started recognising yourself in some of this, I’d encourage you to stay curious rather than jumping immediately to a conclusion.
Write down the things you’re noticing. Think about whether these experiences have been present throughout your life. Look at how they affect different parts of your life, school, work, relationships, home and everyday tasks.
And if you want to explore diagnosis, consider talking with an appropriately qualified professional who understands both autism and ADHD, particularly in adults.
You don’t have to figure everything out overnight.
I certainly didn’t.
🎧 Listen to Episode 2
This post accompanies Episode 2 of the That AuDHD Teacher podcast, where I talk more about what AuDHD means, how autism and ADHD can interact, and why understanding both together can be so important.
If you’d rather listen than read, or want to hear me talk about some of these ideas in more detail, you can listen to the episode here:
Keep exploring
If this is your first time here, you might want to start with my introduction:
And if you’re ready to keep exploring AuDHD, come back for the next post, where I’ll be talking about the signs and experiences I didn’t recognise in myself before I knew I was autistic and ADHD.
Because sometimes the biggest clues aren’t the things we were taught to look for. They’re the things we simply thought were just us.
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