AuDHD (Autism + ADHD) Resources

AuDHD is a short way to write Autism + ADHD. AuDHD is not considered a distinct diagnosis, but rather a type of multiple neurodivergence. Recent research suggests that 50-70% of Autistics are also ADHD (Wang et al., 2017) and 30-65% of ADHDers have significant Autistic traits (Sokolova et al., 2017). So if an individual is identified as either Autistic or ADHD, there is a high likelihood that they are AuDHD.Prior to 2013 and the DSM-5, an individual could only be diagnosed with Autism OR ADHD, so recognizing that they often coincide is a relatively new development and research is consequently limited. While the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for Autism and ADHD are distinct, reports of lived experiences suggest that there may be more overlap than the DSM suggests. However, given that there are likely many ADHDers who are unidentified Autistics (and vice versa), it’s also possible that the overlap is less than we think! There is a huge diversity in the way AuDHD looks (as this video on 5 signs you have Autism and ADHD describes) so it is important to understand how Autism and ADHD intersect and interact for each specific individual. Here are some common experiences of AuDHDers (which won’t necessarily resonate for all AuDHDers):