The sudden rise of AuDHD: what is behind the rocketing rates of this life-changing diagnosis?

An internet search of the U.K. support and that from other countries like the US and Australia is widely different - a U.K. diagnosis would not be accepted in Australia and vice versa for example 

I do wonder why this is too, as some people say that it is childhood vaccine related as in “vaccine damaged” children in the 1960’s and 1970’s - diagnosis is one thing, but support must also come with this diagnosis - if appropriate support is not available, starting with post diagnostic assessment as the benchmark and gateway to that support, as more autistic adults are diagnosed later in life, then we are facing serious problems in the coming years and decades - it’s all very well to focus on support for children right now, but where does this leave autistic adults 

Yes that is true as well Ian. Thanks for pointing this out.

Thats some interesting points you made there. 

You have not completed your profile, but I am assuming that you are not a mental health professional!  The two diagnostic frameworks in common use are the Internation Classification of Diseases Version 11 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR®)

The advantage is that by having a standard classification, one can standardise diagnoses. If there were no accepted common standard, each clinician would be able to attach whatever clinical label they wanted. It would also have huge civil liberties implications - without these frameworks, we would be back to the Victorian era where a doctor could certify a patient as insane and lock them up more or less at will.

Also, my understanding is that with bipolar you can get psychotic symptoms and delusions during manic phases. I knew one person who would go on a shopping spree during her manic phases, thinking she was rich and famous, only to crash when the credit card statement came in a few weeks later. This is not an autistic behaviour pattern.

Yes I agree with this. A lot has changed now, like new knowledge gained and it's opened the flood gates as it were. I've got a little girl, she's 2 now, I'll be interested to see if she's ADHD. She already shows signs of autism.

I think they've realised it runs in families too so are more likely to encourge adults to get tested, also parents who recognise traits in thier diagnosed children that they themselves have are asking for diagnosis.

That's interesting. I read it a couple of days ago. 

There's a spike recently, but ADHD diagnosis has been on the rise for decades.

More people are getting evaluated. More doctors are capable of evaluation and have training and tools for it. Info is more available now and there's a greater understanding of how ADHD presents in adulthood. 

Combine these things and you have more diagnoses.

I was diagnosed with it last year, I was diagnosed with autism first though they thought I had bipolar at first.

Hopefully it means there will be more support too as there's more diagnosis's. More support for autism would be good as well... You're diagnosed and left on your own afterwards it's a nightmare.

Ha ha. Don’t get me started on GPs. I have several stories about hospital consultants complaining bitterly about my GP

to be fair i think alot of our health service is unqualified...

i went to my gp after a dog bit me.... they didnt know what to do... they took me in a room and i kid you not, they went on google and they began to do a google search on how to treat a dog bite lol

It's a misdiagnosis for a reason.

Bipolar is a neurodivergence and mental health need characterised by extreme mood states between mania and depression whereas our autistic neurotype is charactised by a different way of thinking including our specific communication and socialising style, a monotropic cognitive style and a unique sensory experience etc.. combined with ADHD neurotype (interest based nervous system) including a need for novelty, urgency, executive functioning, emotional and sensory differences. I am aware that this is a very simple differentation between neurotypes (and description of these neurotypes) but bipolar is very different from autistic or AuDHD experiences.

I am also aware that on the surface AuDHDer activity states can present in a similar way to someone with bipolar, however the cause of the change in activity is usually different (namely burnout).

I think inconsistent diagnosis processes is a big part of the problem.

When I was researching who could assess me I found plenty of “practitioners” who appeared to have limited qualifications who would diagnose you online all by themselves.

The place I went with did very extensive face to face testing. The clinical psychologist leading the assessment had a strong of autism-specific qualifications and had pursued that career because her brother was autistic. Even then, they used a second clinician to do part of the testing because they needed at least two people to agree on the result.

Or you could just get an unqualified rando on the internet.

ah so i am on the right track and way of thinking then if diagnosis professionals have already misdiagnosed people with bipolar due to this. so the confusion of this mix is there on that note already.

Caelus said:

actually not autism and adhd but rather is some form of bipolar

That’s not accurate at all.

What actually causes the change in state of activity is usually burnout from doing too much or hyper focusing on a task without adequate rest, this is definitely not the same as bipolar. Many members of our autistic community including those are AuDHDers are actually misdiagnosed with bipolar or other mental health needs instead.

could be they revert in the future and say they got it wrong...

they will say the combo of percieved autism and adhd is actually not autism and adhd but rather is some form of bipolar... given the swing from a shy state to a hyper active not shy state.... it makes sense... and i can see them doing that in the future and changing that

One of the things I find difficult as someone who is potentially both is when I'm in a bit of a crash - needing mental stimulation but not having the brain power for it. Often it's like the brain needs or wants one thing but the practical side cannot meet it.

You haven't - I chose to read it! Maybe the worms need releasing. 

dsm-iv has been out of date since 2013 ... do people not read the updates?

out_of_step said:

It's opened up a can of worms in my head which need stuffing back in.

Not a nice metaphor

Nevertheless, I'm sorry to have unsettled you with this article, and I hope you can fit the worms back in where they belong.