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

Mine's more a creeping crescendo which hasn't reached a peak yet.

Adhd had never been a question although I've always felt too sociable and unorganised to be completely autistic. 

It's the contradictions which can be hard. I mostly accept them but when you are internally being pulled in two directions, it can get confusing! Especially when ive been led to believe my executive functioning problems are all to do with autism. It's clear they are not. And also my thinking patterns.  I tried, hard, to find information on both conditions together but never could.  Now it's like all of a sudden it's everywhere - why couldn't I find it!! 

And the other part of me is like - I'm just me - does it matter where it comes from 

This is why I didn't want to read the article. It's opened up a can of worms in my head which need stuffing back in.

out_of_step said:

is a pervasive sense of deep shame and the quiet realisation that their potential in life is not being met.

I can identify with that too, in spite of not also having AD(H)D.

I'm not sure that my realisation was ever 'quiet' though.

It became resounding once I was diagnosed.

I read it.

This. Is. Exactly. It -

"What frequently underpins the external and internal chaos, according to experts and many ADHDers alike, is a pervasive sense of deep shame and the quiet realisation that their potential in life is not being met."

It came from DSM-IV, where ADHD was only diagnosed once other developmental conditions such as autism, Aspergers,PD-NOS had been ruled out. The new revised DSM-V now recognises that the two conditions can overlap. Recent research suggests the overlap is up to 60%.

I am sure I am not the only one who sees plenty of people with traits that indicate ADHD or ASD? I see it in two of my work colleagues, one in his 30's the other in his 60's. I would say that maybe 20% of people have some of the traits. I am 54 and was getting by until 2019. My teenage years were awful but once I started work I had ups and downs but I got by despite knowing something was 'wrong'with me. Between 2020 and 2022 I lost both parents, went through lockdowns and three jobs. I had a massive burnout eppisode I think people are now more likely to look at things they have hidden for years. I was diagnosed as having inattentive ADHD but not quite Autism ( which I think is wrong and will seek a 2nd opinion) and there are many things that seem to overlap.. I do think the profession is scared of the amount of people that have adhd/asd and how big an impact it may have on society.

Rob

no its quite strange that any one would asssume they were mutually exclusive I've no idea where the idea came from because i've never read reserch to that effect. I think the term AuDHD probably just muddies the water but its good that people are starting to realise that far from being mutually exclusive the 2 (quite seperate) conditions appear together frequently.

I think this is correct. Being furloughed or working from home during 2020-21 seemed to make a lot of people realise how much they were masking or on the verge of burn out at work when they had to go back to ‘the office’ again. I’m pretty sure one of the reasons I’ve made it to 39 without referral is because I probably have both. They can almost cancel each other out in a weird way at times. Or maybe mask each other depending on the situation may be a better description than cancel. Also a lot of ladies are diagnosed later in life, especially with ADHD, because hormonal changes can make the traits more severe, or maybe reduce the ability to mask? Something to look forward to in a few years!

I avoided reading it. The whole thing stresses me out on a personal level. Ideal world - people have problems, let's help them as individuals.

This is quite flippant but I haven't got the inclination to be going into it today!

I saw that article yesterday. I can understand that the stereotyped behaviours and challenges of the two conditions would seem mutually exclusive and yet clearly they are not - I can see that in myself.

Interesting. I don’t have adhd just autism. I don’t know what’s behind the rates. Maybe it is all the late diagnosed adults who are responsible for the high rates. 

Thank you. So was I. It's been life changing and I understand myself better now far more than I ever thought possible.

Simmerella said:

it took a long time before someone who did understand diagnosed me correctly.

I'm so pleased you reached this point eventually.

That makes interesting reading. I have ADHD, it really does make things more challenging with having so much to deal with. I think now the population of people is greater and there's more awareness of autism, ADHD etc etc... it means more and more people are being diagnosed. I'm sure I've read before there's a higher number of autism diagnosis's now as well.

This bit was especially interesting '“If I had no lived experience of autism and ADHD I would have missed it completely,” he says. “I would have diagnosed either social anxiety or a personality disorder.”' - this is so often the case. Before being diagnosed with ADHD I was right to be suffering with a personality disorder, it took a long time before someone who did understand diagnosed me correctly.

Thanks for sharing the article, it was an interesting read.