Autism vs ADHD (The Difference between ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder)

ADHDer “start watching comments, no longer following video”

Another symptom of ADHD for me is needing to absorb information quickly. I struggle with people who talk slowly or take ages to get to the point even if I'm genuinely interested in what they have to say. I'll often watch videos on YouTube sped up because I lose focus quickly if information isn't given to me at lightning speed. The irony of all this is that usually when I'm the one presenting information it takes me a decade and a half to get to the point no matter how fast I speak lol.

My favorite part of ADHD is when someone is talking to me and after a few minutes I suddenly realize I've been thinking about paying attention rather than actually doing it.

Loved the part where you said: “you’re probably not even watching anymore” because I wasn’t but I was LISTENING to it and you caught me at the exact moment my attention wandered. God it’s like you’re inside my head. You roped me right back in.

People with ADHD struggle with initiation of tasks we don't enjoy.

“If I speak slowly, I will forget what I want to say” this is me.

The worst thing about ADHD is that if you try to look up ideas on how to deal with it, you will get 0 ADHD resources, and only get resources for Parents on how to handle chidden with ADHD. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 26, and A lot of my past tendencies make a lot more sense now, but not being able to find resources for how to handle this is very frustrating.

ADHD hyperfocus is exactly as you describe it is for autism. I block out all external stimuli. I could be hungry, in physical pain, etc but I block that out and just focus on whatever I'm doing. But I can't always control my hyperfocus- it usually happens only with things I'm interested in. It's also one reason why people with adhd can be late a lot. Once locked into hyperfocus it's hard to shut it off or stop what I'm doing. Also I have time blindness while in it. ( I always have time blindness but it's worse during hyperfocus)

"ADHD is probably the worst named thing in the entire medical profession." - video liked

"you're probably not even watching anymore" Me: looks up from the comment section 👁️👄👁️

As an AuDHDer, it's interesting to notice that the answer to questions like "Do you talk too much or nothing at all?", "Do you enjoy overstimulating spaces or would you rather stay inside in silence with dim lights?", and "Can you switch context easily or do you need some time to adjust?" is always "Yes".

so, i recently found out that i was apparently diagnosed with both autism and adhd but my mom decided not to tell anyone, because she was afraid that her reputation would be affected. and she still decided to ask me why i lose focus quickly and why i struggle with communication and empathy so much. she said that if she had known i would be "less than" she wouldve gotten an abortion. im literally 12 mom.

So basically what I got from this was: ADHD: I understand, but I cannot focus Autism: I can focus, but I do not understand

ADHD also masks. We can spend the day pretending we know what's going on when we're actually not able to process written or verbal instructions or focus on a required task. By the time we get home we're completely exhausted physically and mentally. This creates anxiety, depression, emotional disregulation, low confidence, sensitivity disorder, etc.

I have ADHD, to me homework (for the subjects that I liked) was way more fun than running around. I loved learning new things in the structured way of homework, but once I understood it, I grew bored super quickly from having to repeat it to remember it long term.

People with adhd can and often do hyperfocus on things they're interested in. So, adhd people can also have trouble quitting and moving on from tasks. It may not be what they need to do at the time, but it is what is holding their interest.

"I've canceled everything today because I have energy for this video." Words I could relate to more, may have never been spoken.

That adhd feel when you said "you're probably not even watching anymore" and it made me come back to the vid because I got distracted and went to another tab lmaoo

My 9 year old son & I just watched this & he’s never felt so understood & seen. You’ve brilliantly described his ADHD symptoms in ways he wasn’t able to articulate.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and underlying autism at 41. It's both nice to finally have an answer as to why life has been so hard just to be normal, how I'm terrible in social situations, and anger-inducing to think about how my life could have been had I - a girl with inattentive ADHD with hyperactivity and autism - went under the radar. I was the normal kid. A life of frustration at people not understanding how hard it is to try, to work to be normal, and to do things I don't find interesting makes me cry. I've had meltdowns over the stupidest stuff that wasn't even about that thing, but was built up frustrations and emotions, and trying so hard to be normal that I crack.