Published on 12, July, 2020
I was diagnosed as autistic yesterday (42, female), but the psychiatrist was convinced I had combined ASD/ADHD traits and he explained that that has meant a lot of individual traits are hidden by the other (eg I have an aversion to change but get bored easily). I feel like I’m constantly at war with myself. My psychiatrist said that if I took ADHD meds the ASD traits would become more evident and he’s referred me for this assessment also.
The difficulty is I have a lot of anxiety around my diagnosis because I was on the threshold of ASD – I prefer to be alone but I can be social and have learned to make eye contact now I’m older and don’t feel uncomfortable if it’s people I know well (though I can’t hold a gaze). I feel I tick so many boxes for each condition but not all of them and I am very high functioning - the psychiatrist said i am good at masking.
At the end of my assessment the psychiatrist asked if I’d like him to put ‘autistic traits’ and wait for an adhd assessment before confirming the autism diagnosis (to see it the meds revealed more traits) and I didn’t know what to say (because a lot of my issues are also processing information on the spot which made the assessment difficult). He said he was convinced I was autistic so gave me a diagnosis but now I feel really anxious it’s the wrong diagnosis.Has anyone else on here got both? I wondered how this presented for you and what you’ve found helpful. I feel like no one would believe me if I said I had either condition (I’m too much of a planner’ to be adhd but too disordered to be ASD). I can also be very chatty when nervous or speaking about my special interest but get burnout after social occasions.
I just wanted to say, it doesn’t matter who believes you. A professional has stated their case. You fit the criteria. What you need to do is realise both ASD and ADHD affects people differently. And you won’t have all the listed criteria. In fact, you will probably have lots of the traits that are listed on the internet. The fact is, you have some issues. And these issues have always been there, and won’t ever go away. That’s not a bad thing. Hopefully now you can start to work out what helps you the most, and practice lots of self care. oh, and my daughter, nearly 19 has both.