Hi :)

Hi Johnsb,

Thanks very much, i'll have a look into them,the one with the worksheets might help me alot actually. my psychiatrist keeps asking me what i think i struggle with, but apart from the obvious one like anxiety, communicationa and social skills, its hard to know what 'normal' is supposed to be, as my 'normal' isnt everyone elses 'normal' if that makes sense haha.

so i'll definitely have a look into that, thank you :)

Jademh73 said:

do you know of any good books/resourcs or anything that will help me understand the condition better and help me towards coping/managing it? (either on ADHD or Aspergers/Autism spectrum) i've heard of a book called 'Living well on the spectrum' i think it was called, do you know if it's any good or worth buying at all?

I'd recommend "Living Well on the Spectrum". It's by Valeris Gaus. It has a series of worksheets to help identify where you have problems, and worksheets to help resolve them. It's a good read without doing the work too.

I think another book well worth reading is "Complete Guide to Aspergers Syndrome" by Tony Attwood. I think it pretty much covers everything about Aspergers.

thank you, i appreciate your help and advice :) i'll have a look into it, plus i have an asperger's workshop/group thing i start tomorrow so hopefully i'll learn a bit more about it there too.

The more you read, the more it makes sense. 

My own diagnosis highlighted some of my problems with communications and social skills. But my diagnosis meeting also discussed the coping mechanisms which I've developed over the years. 

It's understandable that friends and family find it hard to accept. But you are still you. 

For the moment, I can recommend this NHS report on autism and ADHD and the different conditions can overlap.

www.rcpsych.ac.uk/.../Whitwell Susannah - ASD CPD Updates.pdf

yeah thats exactly how it happened with me

it was very strange for me to even think about the possibility of being on the spectrum, but after researching it, it actually does make a whole lot of sense.

i think my friends and family are finding it hard to accept though, my fiends and my old work colleagues especially didn't believe me when i told them i had the diagnosis. My manager was so surprised when i told her.

do you know of any good books/resourcs or anything that will help me understand the condition better and help me towards coping/managing it? (either on ADHD or Aspergers/Autism spectrum) i've heard of a book called 'Living well on the spectrum' i think it was called, do you know if it's any good or worth buying at all?

thanks :)

Sounds like you had a similar experience as me. 

Like you, I was first diagnosed with ADHD. The assessor said he was "pretty sure" I was also on the autism spectrum. So he referred me to one of his colleagues for an autism spectrum assessment, where I was diagnosed.

I never consider myself to be on the autism spectrum. So it came as a suprise. But since researching the subject and reading my diagnosis report it makes more sense now. 

I think you have to be aware of how ADHD and aspergers affects you. Then it helps to deal with the problem.

Don't worry about the spelling mistakes.

thats great, i think i will try the CBT and see if it helps at all. i'm also booked onto an Aspergers workshop which is supposed to help me learn about the condition and learn coping strategies etc. so i hope that goes ok, i'm a bit nervous about that but i'm willing to try it if it will help.

I'm currently on Straterra now, but before that i was on medication called Matoride XL which is Methylphenidate. I could see some improvement with that but unfortunately it was giving me really bd migraines and making my sensitivity to light even worse so i had to stop that.

managing anxiety is hard, i used to have alot of coping strategies that worked, for example, listening to music, looking for things in the environment to distract myself etc. but i got used to them so much they actually brought on panic attacks.

the thought of an Aspergers diagnosis didnt even cross my mind, i was diagnosed with ADHD first, and my assessor recommended i'd have the Asperger's assessment too as he suspected it. and actually i'm glad i went with it as it explains alot, and most of my support i've been getting at university has come from the Asperger's diagnosis rather than the ADHD   

(p.s. i apologise for any spelling mistakes, the keys on my keypad aren't working very well)

Some years ago, I had CBT to help me with my communication skills in difficult situations. It was hard work but very useful. I would recommended it. I thought it was more effective than medication. So you might want to follow your psychiatrist's advice. 

For ADHD medication, I take Concerta which is a slow release version of Ritalan. They do provide some focus and calm. What other ADHD medication have you tried ?

My doctor has also got me to take an antipsychotic called Olanzapine, which I've been taking for about 10 months. This really does help with mood swings and almost elimanted the meltdowns.

Managing anxiety is an outgoing truggle. So I'm trying to see it has something to isolate and manage, rather than a problem to solve.

Before being diagnosed with aspergers, did you think there was a possibility that you could have this condition ?

Hi Shinkansen1966

thanks for thewelcome :) it's really nice to meet other people who understand the difficulties i face everyday, makes me feel less alone!

and yes, anxiety is one of m biggest problems, especially recently as it seems to have gotten worse :( I used to be on anxiety medication, anti-depressents, pani attack medication etc. tried the lot, but it just wasnt working for me. so i stopped it all together.

now i'm seeing psychiatrist who wants me to try CBT but im not sure abou it. i dont think i have the right mindset to try that. have you ever tied it at all?

i am on ADHD medication, on straterra as the other one wasnt helping enough and i had really bad migraines from it. so far i havent seen alot of improvement, so just hope the longer im on it the more change will happen soon?

Jademh73 said:

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jade and i'm 24 years old and I've just had my Aspergers diagnosis a couple of months ago. I also have an ADHD diagnosis too.

Hello Jade,

Welcome to the forum. You're not the only with ADHD and aspergers

Like you, I also have both ADHD and ASD (autism spectrum disorder). 

If you have both conditions, I think there can be difficulties with anxiety, managing several things at once and good social skills. I tend to get fixated and obsessed with subjects which interest me. 

What are you doing to help manage the symptoms ? Are you taking any medication, therapy ? 

Hi Pixie,

Thanks so much for your welcome :)

I will deffinitely make use of this forum, I think it's great there are people so willing to help.

Thanks again,

Jade :)

Hi Jade, welcome to the community.

I'm also a woman with aspergers and I've found this forum very helpful. If you're worried or just curious about something, just ask - someone will try to help.

Take care

Pixie