Can you have autism and ADHD

[GretaGa]

Hi all
I have a DS aged 5 who was diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties last year. He started main stream school this year and is doing okish compared to where he was last year.

He has soooo much energy and has to run everywhere, also likes to pump and swing his arms. Situations such as shopping centres, crowds and busy cafes make him manic and over-excited. He also never seems to get tired, luckily he sleeps through the night but always wakes about 6ish each day raring to go.

After he did the sports relief mile last week, his TA commented that in the afternoon he was the most focussed he has ever been in class and she put that down to his burning off his excess energy. The big question is, is the autism making him behave like this or could he have ADHD too? I have looked into ADHD and DS ticks every box. His TA has asked if I could take him for a run before school each day but dunno how feasible that will be. Does anyone with a child with ADHD or autism have extra PE or exercise into their school timetable to help them burn it off?

Thanks x

Greta from what I've read asd and adhd are overlapping conditions.

My ds definitely functions better when he's had masses of exercise. It doesn't have to be all at once though or first thing in the morning. It's recommended that kids get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day. Maybe its more for children with developmental problems.

A book that I've found really helpful is 'the out of sync child' by Carol kranowitz

Yes some children do have both. There are some people on here who have children with both.

I believe my eldest Dd(23) has both she doesnt have a diagnosis. My youngest has a dx of ASD and she never stops moving but she is not as full on as the eldest.

As for extra PE what is your SENCO like, it may be something school could try for a few weeks to see if it helps your ds to focus.

Good luck.

DS2 has both (plus some other stuff). It all overlaps IYSWIM. Burning off extra energy doesn't really help DS2. Then he's just overtired and still all over the place.

If you are concerned, I would have him assessed by your paed. They may be able to do some assessments that would clarify if it's actually ADHD as well, or simply an aspect of the ASD. It's difficult to tell IMO.

Yes like others said ADHD can be combined. Also look into sensory processing difficulties.

DS ticks most of the Connors form for ADHD but at the same time a lot of the traits correspond with sensory seeking issues. He has been dx with SPD and goes manic rushing around when too many people are about or if there is too many different noises going on. :)

Ds has both. He got the AS diagnosis first and it was difficult to get the ADHD after that - it usually happens the other way around for most people and it's easlier because AS 'trumps' ADHD. It's not technically a full diagnosis because many of the symptoms come under the AS umbrella, however the psych considered them to be 'sufficiently disabling to warrant a trial of medication' and you can't do that without a dx, so ds ended up with 'borderline'.

It's... interesting . Even during good times when he's calm and doing well, there are always issues to deal with relating to one or the other. The conditions do kind of impact on each other and it's not an easy mix. At least it's never dull .

Yes - I have a friend who's DS has both autism and ADHD. He takes Ritalin (lots of it!) for the ADHD as it calms him down. He's 18 though, so much older.

DS1 has both. His ADHD was picked up as a possibility when his ASD was diagnosed, age 3, and conformed by CAMHS when he was 6.

And like Triggles' DS, he's a nightmare when he's tired. It makes him bouncier and even more sensory seeking.

The simple answer is yes. As others have already said there are some overlapping traits to them. I did think for some time that ds3 had adhd as well as asd and sld, as ds2 has adhd, but as he has got older I realise that it more of a cross over than anything. DS3 is the same at night, it how we can tell he is ready for bed.

Thanks for all your advice. Have paed appt next week. So wanted to double-check you can have both ASD and ADHD before I suggest it. We had busy day yesterday and coming back in car, my ds's friends were nodding off as we went for long walk and my DS was suggesting we go to softplay. "out of sync kids" now purchased from ebay, thanks oodles. Hope I can sort his excess energy out through extra exercise or something as not keen on the ritalin thing but the more energy he gets, the more knackered I get, so something has to give!