While I do think the distinction between ADHD and ASD is still useful in some ways, mostly around having signposts regarding where to start for treatment… a number of people in my life, myself included, are basically “mix-and-match from both lists of symptoms”. Some very clearly are majority from one list or the other, but most are both to varying degrees.
That’s exactly what I mean. The distinction is useful for determining treatment approaches but overall it might be more useful to generally look at them together holistically.
In my own case, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Autism didn’t enter the discussion even a little bit. I’m medicated with stimulants and it works well for me for executive dysfunction part of my overall symptoms. It’s only very recently, while helping someone close to me go through a combo diagnosis, that I’m realizing that there are probably some other traits I have that would be better addressed with Autism counselling.
