I was listing some of the things I’ve noticed that I think indicate possible ASD/ADHD:
She finds it really challenging to regulate her emotions. We go from 0-100 instantly, back down and then up again a second later.
Transitions are difficult, especially when out of routine - she will get really anxious which displays as anger and she doesn’t want to go to the new place even though she will really enjoy it once she’s there and she knows this because she’s been before.
She finds loud noises overwhelming and feels anxious when she thinks there might be a loud noise. Ear defenders help.
She finds sitting still challenging. She is usually jumping around or flailing her legs about.
She masks at school and shows a high level of compliance but becomes tired and emotional at home.
She struggles to switch off and fall asleep. This process takes hours every night.
If her blood sugar is low, she becomes more emotional and harder to reason with. This leads to her refusing to eat even though she’s hungry.
She gets hyper focused interests such as a new film, a game, a specific song or a concept. She has previously hyperfixated on the concept of death but currently she has a focus on cars being parked partially on the pavement. She’ll ask me every time she sees one if it’s illegal to do.
She’s exceptionally bright. She learnt phonics at school and can read nearly fluently and with comprehension. She didn’t do this at a steady pace, it was like someone flipped a switch in her brain.
She is exceptionally good at Maths. She understands the concepts and applies it. If she asks what 80+100 is, I’ll ask her what 8+10. She’ll say 18. “So what’s 80+100?” and she knows that’s 180. We’ve not pushed her or coached her to do this.
She loves science and has absorbed information from a really young age. She started using hydration in correct context at about 3 after she heard the word in a film. Interestingly though, she was slower to talk and didn’t really speak until she was 2. She then went straight to full sentences really quickly.