Does this sound like ADHD?

[henryhsmum]

My DS is 6 and diagnosed autistic. Very much on his own agenda. He is quite able in a lot of ways- verbal, can do quite a bit of maths and is an excellent reader but he struggles with applying things abstractly and his fine motor skills are very poor.

I am very concerned that he may also have ADHD. He is very very hyper and high energy. Climbs on things and always has to be doing something but struggles to focus for any length of time unless it is the computer or Thomas the Tank. He is in a special school and his teacher is saying he is extremely noisy and will often shout over her and he struggles to sit still without adult one to one. He is often given time out as he will disrupt groups by calling out and talking to himself. His teacher says he often has to have things she has said to the group re explained to him one to one and he works in a quiet room one to one quite often as he struggles to focus in class. he is loud at home but we hadn't been told it was such an issue at school.
Given how hyper he is I'm starting to wonder if he may have ADHD as well as autism - I'd be interested to hear what others think?

It's really hard to say. There are quite a few things you list that DS2 displays as well, and he has been dx'd with ADHD (along with some other things). But that doesn't always mean anything as children all seem to present just ever so slightly different IYSWIM.

I think the paediatrician said it well when she said he has this triad of things going on in the forefront.. basically it all overlaps, and we don't really know specifically when a behaviour is down to ADHD, ASD, or DCD (or the other problems he has)... which is why we tend to focus on his needs, rather than the dx.

If you're concerned, I would go back to the paediatrician and ask questions. Explain your concerns and let them do more assessments.

I think I am going to have to ask the doctor to look at him again. Hisx school are definite that noise and him not concentrating are becoming a big issue.

Whilst my DS is definitely autistic he is in some ways atypical for autism in that he does have his own agenda but he is outgoing, very loving, wants to have friends but struggles to interact/relate and often does his own thing. He also will allow some aspects of his routine to change such as mealtimes but the way he thinks is inflexible in a lot of ways. He does do some repetitive physical behaviours such as being echolaic but he is more likely to jump around and be loud than to for example head bang or rock back and forth. I guess I just want to get to the bottom of this now as to me the hyperactivity is more than just autism related and I would say that whilst with autism it can be triggered by anxiety/sensory stimuli with my Ds he is hyperactive all the time and it is often triggered by this constant excitement/energy he has.

Triggles - can I ask at what age your ds was diagnosed and if they have done anything extra for your son due to ADHD such as prescribing Ritalin? Is your son at a specialist school? Hope you don't mind me asking, I am just trying to get a picture of how ADHD can affect treatment regimes etc for a child with autism?

That sounds a lot like DS2 as well. He was dx'd last summer, just after he turned 5yo. The paed was planning on waiting until he was a bit older, but said it was already pretty clear so gave the dx. She have brought up medication (I'm pretty sure paed breathes a sigh of relief every time we leave the office, as he's all over the place in her office ), but we agreed to wait on it, as DH & I are not comfortable with it at this point and want to focus on behaviour management.

He is currently in MS, with FT 1:1 support. We have just applied for him to attend a SS locally, and we are awaiting the decision now.

Not sure what you mean regarding the affect on treatment regimes.. we just look at his needs and go from there. Not overly fussed on the dx itself, tbh. Just words on paper really.

good grief... she HAS... not she have...yeesh

Henrysmum sensory processing issues underlie all these dx's (asd, adhd etc). It sounds to me like your son's sensory needs aren't being met at school.

Sensory needs is just a posh term for running about and having childish fun, BTW!

You say that he has poor motor skills and it sounds to me like he trying to improve his balance (which is at the core of everything else) by being active.
If you haven't read it, the Out of Sync Child is a good place to start.

Oodlesofdoodles- thanks for link I will have a look at the book. It's interesting what you say about it being linked to balance, he was a very difficult birth and stopped breathing for 2 minutes, he was slow to hold his head up and walk etc and I have always thought a lot of his issues stem from his birth