How to know if you’re co morbid?
Hi I’m Grace! I have ADHD and I’ve known this for a long time. I was diagnosed around the 4th grade (so when I was like 9 or 10). But recently I’ve started to notice some behaviors that I think are more exclusive to autistic traits. I don’t want to be that person that’s like “oh ADHD and autism and basically the same the same thing, etc.” because I know they are very different and I don’t want to discredit actually autistic people. But there a good amount of similar traits between the two. Would I have gotten diagnosed with both with I got my ADHD diagnosis? Basically I’m wondering how do you know if it’s just ADHD or if I might be both and ADHD and autistic?
@lizzieolsenswife
Hey Grace! This is a very good question. Even when they have similar features you would be given a second diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) if you fulfilled all the criteria. ADHD is the most common condition associated with ASD and the co-morbidity rate can be as high as 70%. Remember that having some autistic traits still does not guarantee that you would be given this diagnosis. You could address the diagnostic manual to see whether you meet the criteria but I would recommend seeing a therapist as they are the experts and can even help you with how to manage - it is much less of a burden than trying to figure it out on your own. I hope my answer helped :)