Autism and ADHD

I'm not sure I'm a typical case.. as I think many people diagnosed with ADHD do take meds but some use more natural methods like diet, supplements, exercise and strategies.  I listen to various podcasts on adhd and Aspergers. I thought that's what you wanted to know. If you read around on here most find it a mixed but positive thing to do. Martian Tom writes very eloquently about it. I'm 55 I just wanted to get to the root cause of Why? And I have which gives me a reason and can tell myself it's not all my fault.  I hoped having a diagnosis would make a difference and I think in the long run it will. But I haven't utilised the recommendations effectively which is my user error and not had the support to help me do that. I have made some progress but it's very very slow due to my other health issues. I have struggled to find enough information for adults where it isn't about a single condition. There is very little out there for people with both asd and adhd and in my case dyspraxia too. There is a lot to learn. I hyper focused on the different conditions as I was discovering them but since I sort of lost interest and haven't put the pieces together. So I am frustrated with myself and a feeling bit abandoned. I wouldn't want to go back to not knowing. I have lost so much throughout life because of the ND that the continual wonder of why? plagued  me for years and diagnosis has answered so much. So for me the diagnosis was very much worth it. I'm just very slow to adjust to and make use of that in the best way possible. Whilst trying to continue the balancing act of life. No it isn't easy or easier yet but am hoping it will become so but I know it's me that has to do that and I've run out of oomph. As you will see there are people on the forum who do have a balance of home and work and find ways to make it work for them. It's finding ways to adjust and adapt as best we can and put it into practice.. and staying interested enough to do that is a challenge. I'm really tired today so am sorry I have rambled on yet again.

So if you haven't tried any medication, what has the diagnosis done in terms of helping you? I'm curious as to whether or not those who have been diagnosed think it is a positive or a negative. 

Certainly I had hoped that my ASD diagnosis would be a huge help, and in a way it has, but it has also been a huge and pretty difficult journey so far and sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to not know. 

I have read that for many medication really works well so it is worth exploring with them. I wasn't brave enough to try as my tolerance to meds of any kind  is low. I wasn't sure I could cope with the effort of trying to get the right one at the right dosage at the moment which could be a mistake because it is life Changing for some re add/adhd. I will be interested to find out what the outcome of your appointment is as regards the meds. Quirkyfriend has written about adhd in her family with very practical positive advice. 

Thanks for the teply. Have you found that since your diagnosis, has any treatment improved your quality of life? Have you been given any medication?

I have my next appointment tomorrow so I will raise this and see what the outcome is. 

Hello Chuckalicious. I have dyspraxia (dcd), adhd and Aspergers. All diagnosed in my 50's. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Some of the characteristics overlap, seem contradictory. Sometimes one applies the next the opposite. I think I should type up lists for each diagnosis so that I can compare them as it is confusing. On one of the threads I posted a ven diagram showing the overlap of Neurodiversity. At one time it was said that you couldn't have both autism/asd and adhd but this has been found not to be the case. I know what you mean about the mistakes too which in my case became worse after menopause when hormones change. My short term memory got worse so that there are jobs I have enjoyed in the past that I could no longer do. It is bewildering. I hope Ellie's advice was able to help you on the practical side but I just wanted to encourage you to look into the dual aspect of asd/adhd more because it sounds very like it

Hi,

For anyone interested the helpline number is 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm), although please note that the Helpline is experiencing increasingly high demand, and you may not reach them straight away.

Please see the following link for further information:

http://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main.aspx

Nellie-Mod

Ditto. It's a tough and frustrating journey and even more so when expressing yourself and your wants and needs are so challenging 

Thanks. I'm doing ok yes, I just want to figure out as much as I can. 

And no one can take that away from you..how can you keep making mistake after mistake but also be getting there! You beat yourself up too much. You are you  and this is your journey..

you're doing fine...more than fine x

Trying to. Hard to get out of the loop of making mistake after mistake after mistake. Getting there though. 

Please don't beat yourself up though as you have much to offer 

I have a form to fill out for an organisation that helps people like me get back into work. I havent filled it out yet as I'm not in a position to get back to work until next year (child care) so in the meantime I'm trying to figure out my strengths and why they are what they are and thus what sort of work would be right for me. 

Have you also tried phoning (yes I know, the autistic society offering our worst wishes a phone line) the bad helplines for guidance on employment?

Ok..so do you want to stay in the software testing sphere or try something different. I imagine that you are under a lot of pressure to gain employment but you have a much needed skill set..though the trouble is voicing your needs

I think it would depend on the situation. In the job I did a big part of the work was managing my own workload, meeting users for specifications, meeting deadlines, dealing with big finding and criticism. Didn't deal well with any of that. 

I have found I do best at tasks which have a definite start and end. Software does not have that. 

I work in computing as well.. do you feel comfortable in asking in an adjustment in working conditions?

i once had a student, fluent in many programming languages....they wanted him to lead the team,.... in the end they took him on working from home as did not want to lose his skill set 

Oh yes, I know I have them :-) but the attention to detail is the big one in terms of attractive employment attributes. That's why they say software development, testing etc is great for us. 

However I did that job for too long and can tell you it wasn't good for me. Far too social and collaborative and required lots of meetings, project planning etc. 

chuckalicious said:

I'm autistic, only to say "oh, but I don't have some of the really useful attributes

but you do....have you looked up the positive skill set that you can bring. X