Autism and ADHD: 7 Common Traits Every ND Teacher Should Know
Have you been learning about autism and wonder how it may overlap with your ADHD? Or vice versa?
If so, you’re in the right place!
I’m a late-diagnosed ADHDer with sensory processing issues, and have been learning more about how these symptoms overlap with autism.
If this sounds like you, grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and let’s get going.
My perspective comes from years of teaching autistic children alongside non-autistic students in elementary music classes.
And also from knowing adults who are receiving a diagnosis later in life.
Similarities of Symptoms Between ADHD and Autism
Sensory Sensitivities
Autistic people frequently experience sensory sensitivities.
Sound
Sound has been, hands down, the most impactful of them that I've witnessed.
As a former music teacher I can attest to the fact that noise-canceling headphones helped many of my students.
It would allow students to be able to stay longer and participate more freely, more joyfully.
Aides would sometimes bring a certain pair with them as they supported their student.
I also kept a few on hand in case anyone else needed them.
As a side note, other undiagnosed students found them helpful too.
Which is, hey, no judgment.
It was just an interesting phenomenon to witness when several students suddenly wanted to wear them.
The acoustics in my room ranged from an unstoppable din to the loudest reverb you can imagine.
Or, at least it felt that way at times.
And sometimes those other students would request them at each class.
Which to me meant they really needed them.
I was happy to accommodate, of course.
Number one because it was my job!
And also, I personally felt the same level of distress from the decibel level.
I’d do my best to support all students them while keeping the primary headphone set available for the autistic students.
Textures and Late-Diagnosis
As I’ve been working in the late-diagnosed adult ADHD space, I’ve come across many women in particular who all say the same thing.
They had texture aversions as a child.
And that this was a red flag that was missed.
I know from online forums that some autistic adults talk about tolerating only certain fabrics.
Or challenges with transitioning into and out of the shower.
To a neurotypical person they might not understand the heavy textural components involved with bathing.
But I’m guessing if you’re reading this it’s because you relate.
Executive Functioning Challenges
These are skills that allow us to prioritize, and break down complex tasks into smaller steps.
They allow us to decide what to do first and second, and guide us to complete projects.
Neurodiverse people, whether ADHD, autistic, or AuDHD, struggle with these kinds of skills.
Regardless of your diagnosis, I’m sure you can relate to the overwhelm that comes with task paralysis.
This is when there are so many activities that we want to do, but can’t readily pick where to start.
Or can pick but feel like we can’t actually get started.
Sometimes literally writing a list, closing my eyes, and pointing can help me get started.
As can pulling a name out of a ziplock bag.
Communication Challenges
From what I’ve seen, this area can bring up more debate from within the autistic community itself.
Here’s what I mean.
For a family whose child is non-verbal, communication is in a different realm.
The same can be said for care-taking as a whole.
This is clearly not the same experience as someone who struggles to keep a conversation going.
Caring for a child who is completely dependent on you for feeding, bathing, and everything else is in a different category.
Right?
So that said, I know that the language centers of neurodiverse brains tend to operate a bit more…quirkily?
(Yep, new word. I'm going with it.)
There can be a pervasive feeling of brain fog, or not being able to remember an expression.
Another big one is not processing what someone is saying.
Or, not being able to retain and remember what someone said.
The myth that autistic people lack empathy I think stems a lot from communication difficulties.
For example, someone may, upon hearing a distressing story, freeze.
They may be so upset that they can’t readily find the appropriate words.
They may be so overloaded with all their senses that it’s just not possible to also form coherent sentences in that moment.
The person who doesn’t understand nd brains might think the person was being rude.
When really they are just trying to hold it all together.
Emotional Regulation Needs
Both ADHD and autism impact the brain’s ability to regulate emotions.
This has a lot to do with the prefrontal cortex.
This area, located at the front of your brain, manages impulse control and decision-making.
It is supposed to absorb current information, sift through past experiences, and determine the next best course of action.
The problem is that with neurodiversity, as well as with trauma, this part of the brain tends to malfunction.
If you have studied neuroscience at all, you may be familiar with the reason behind the phrase ‘flipping one’s lid.’
So something as minor as someone telling you they like your outfit today, may actually irritate you.
You may feel annoyed by how the person said it.
Or you may overanalyze everything about the interaction.
Did they not like what you were wearing all the other days?
Thus begins a spiral of intense emotion. These can range especially in sadness and anger, but nothing is off the plate here.
You may either huff and storm down the hallway.
Or you might silently seethe for days.
Or alternatively you might feel intense shame and embarrassment about how you handled the interaction.
You may ever experience a not-so-pleasant combination of these choices!
Along those lines, these emotional challenges are often accompanied by rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD).
With this delightful disorder people are extremely emotionally vulnerable to any kind of real, or perceived, rejection.
This again is tied to differences in brain structure.
But in the heat of the moment, it can be absolutely debilitating.
As a teacher we have to be so tough-skinned sometimes.
Okay all of the time.
So having your feelings frequently hurt is not really conducive to eliciting honest feedback, for example.
The best way to get honest feedback is from someone that understands how you operate and whose opinion you value.
Someone who knows what they’re talking about is also a great start.
Otherwise it’s super common to feel thrown off kilter for hours, days, or even months.
I had always considered myself a highly sensitive person (HSP).
But when I started learning about ADHD and RSD, my emotional reactions made a lot more sense.
They are something that I still grapple with.
But I am learning how to manage them.
What about you?
What About If You Have Both? AuDHD
Sometimes people can have both ADHD and autism.
In this case people say they are AuDHD.
At the bottom of this post I will link to some resources that go into autism vs ADHD in more detail.
What I will say is that the increase in AuDHD diagnosis makes a lot of sense to me.
This again seems especially true for women.
Women are socialized to be excellent maskers.
(See What is ADHD? for more information on this.)
We are taught to hide our confusion, crippling anxiety, and the depth of our feelings.
We learn to blend in like chameleons because sticking out is dangerous.
Being told that we are exaggerating or being dismissed is more painful than not asking for help.
So we bottle it up and try to deal with it ourselves.
Or you know, we try not to deal with it and hope it all just goes away.
Spoiler alert: that usually doesn’t work out so well.
At best, we can go years and years without the proper accommodations and support.
This negatively affects our identity, self-esteem, personal and work relationships, life goals, and more.
Which is really, really sad.
Even more tragic are the people whose fates take even darker turns.
It’s my hope that my blog will shed light on these issues.
Maybe one person will get help who otherwise wouldn’t have.
That would be worth it to me.
Rigidity in Routines and Thought
Both ADHD and autism lend themselves to needing to have things a certain way.
This can be in how objects are organized or placed.
You may obsess over aligning your butcher paper *just so* in your hallway displays.
Or it can be wanting to do the same breakfast routine exactly the same every time.
It can also be inflexible thinking.
Let’s say there’s an impromptu assembly. Great! Oh boy!
No one mentioned it to you and now your entire schedule is completely jacked.
It may not be easy for you to pick up the remaining goals for the day and press forward.
So being able to pivot may be difficult.
These are generalizations that I’d like to touch on more in future posts.
But for the sake of time…
Let’s Recap
ADHD and autism share many symptoms which greatly overlap.
This is based on my experience working with students and meeting late-diagnosed autistic adults.
The main areas of overlap include sensory sensitivities, executive function struggles, emotional regulation challenges, and communication issues.
There are also other tendencies towards rigidity and inflexible thinking.
And yes, obsessive behaviors. What fun! (I jest…)
Going Forward
There is hope! One of the main reasons I started this blog was to help gather other like-minded individuals.
If you would like to be a part of our growing support community, join our email list and visit us at teachwithnd.com/facebook.
Can’t wait to see you there.
