Asd and ADHD?

[Gottalovecosta]

Ds1 is 5 years old and in the process of assessment for asd. He has quite hyper behaviour so was referred questioning ADHD so is now being assessed for that as well. He already has a diagnosis of hyper mobility and dyspraxia. I know that often these conditions co-exist together, just wondering if anyone else has a child with both asd and ADHD diagnosis?

Yes. Ds is 13, got AS dx at 7 years and ADHD at 10. It usually comes the other way around (autism 'trumps' ADHD) but we always felt that a lot of his issues were around ADHD, and this was confirmed later.

It's very common to have the two together.

Our son has ASD with ADHD and other co-morbids, he also has MLD. When he was little the impulsiveness and lack of danger awareness really kept us on our toes, now 12 the autism and anxiety led demand avoidance are greater challenges.

My DSD (lives with me) is 13 and had ADHD diagnosis aged 4 which was changed aged 11 to ADHD with ASD features. Her 2nd diagnosis only came when we moved house and came under a different authority and they reassessed her. I was always sure she didn't meet the ADHD criteria alone so was relieved when my concerns were recognised as she receives better support at school with both.

My boy was dx recently with AS and ADHD combined.

The ADHD is hyperkinetic?

I am finding dealing with the ADHD a lot easier than his anxiety and his sensory processing issues as these seem to be at the forefront of his problems at the moment.

Yep. DS1(8.5) was diagnosed with ASD with hyperactivity age 3. After further assessment age 6, it was confirmed that he had ADHD.

With treatment, we've managed to put a lid on his worst ADHD symptoms and his communication has really blossomed as a result. Like Coff33pot's boy, he still has huge issues with sensory processing and anxiety and is really struggling in mainstream as a result.

Interested in this thread because our DS, 10, has a dx of AS and has lots of anxiety, sensory issues, OCD traits and major demand avoidance.
He is now under the care of a psychiatrist and taking sertraline. Our view is that this has possibly upped his restlessness but not totally sure if this is the case.
Psychiatrist has now suggested adding methylphenidate but when I asked if this means he has ADHD he said under ICD10 a seperate diagnosis would not be given. I am a bit confused as lots of people seem to have DCs with dual diagnoses.
Also does it depend on who we see - what is 'sensory modulation dysfunction' which OT says he has and what is 'ADHD'? Are they different names for the same thing sometimes, afterall at root it seems to be a physical reaction to overload from various aspects of the environment around him at the time?
Sorry, lots of questions and not wanting to hijack thread - just cannot make up our minds about how it all fits in, conflicting advice, and so unsure about meds as a result ...

Yes. my oldest has autism and my youngest has autism and adhd.

Yes, my DS is 6 and has autism (diagnosed at 3 ) and has just been diagnosed with ADHD. The two conditions are very similar and definitely can be co morbid. Our ADHD actually said that there is a huge under diagnosis rate of ADHD in children already diagnosed with autism as once they have the autism 'label' the ADHD often isn't picked up as the two conditions are very similar and it is too easy to just attribute ADHD to the autism.

My son has always been extremely hyper and issues such as him being noisy were put down to his autism. Since being on Ritalin he is far calmer. The ADHD consultant said to us that behaviour therapy can work but until you can get the ADHD under control with medication, behaviour therapy won't work as the child can't focus and concentrate due to ADHD.

My advice would be to read up on the similarities between the two conditions and if you believe your DS has both push for both to be diagnosed at the same time as it is difficult to later get a second condition diagnosed

We're currently going through having our eldest diagnosed with ADHD as a co-morbid with ASD. The ADHD nurse indicated that it was pretty much a dead cert that once we saw the paediatrician we'd be offered medication for the ADHD, and according to her around 25% with ASD have co-morbid ADHD.

Apparently the medication for ADHD can help ADHD/ASD kids but will bring their ASD behaviour more to the fore as the ADHD behaviour is suppressed. For some reason children on ADHD meds tend to have more side effects if they have the combined conditions than if it's ADHD on its own (according to some papers I found on Medline) so we'll be going very carefully!

Warm and fuzzy- it sounds like your experience wih diagnosis has been very similar to mine.

We were told that whilst ADHD meds can bring ASD traits to the fore, the benefit is that the child can actually concentrate better and therefore behavioural therapy for the ASD is more effective than without meds.

My understanding is that in the recent past a diagnosis of ASD 'trumped' any other co-morbids so was considered to include them. Since the NICE ruling ( in UK) that ADHD meds can only be prescribed to ADHD diagnosed individuals, dual (and multiple) diagnosis are more common. In ds case the community paeds can DX ADHD ( but need CAHMS to asses for ASD) so many youngsters like ds ( who are really both) get the ADHD diagnosed and treated before getting any where near the top of the waiting list for ASD assessment. So ds was very young and the autism DX followed several years later. Once on medication the autism was very obvious. Before that he barely interacted execpt as a whirlwind of energy! I think the trend towards more detailed diagnosis is a good way to go. My gut feeling is that Ds ADHD meds (concerta) help ds be more aware of everything (such as things not being just right IIKWIM) and that increases his anxiety. I personally think it is a particularly difficult combination (looks around at chaos in house)!!

Meant to say ds motor assessment would have given him a diagnosis of dyspraxia if ASD had not also been on the cards.
I do hope that in the future diagnosises will be more specific so that support in the learning years can be tailored properly.

I agree, magso, with the hope that diagnosisasd will be more specific in the future. My DD is diagnosed mild to moderate ASD. She ticks all boxes for ADHD, dyspraxia, PDA and SPD. It's all classed as part of her ASD so CAMHS wont supports her as not mental health if part of ASD.

I'm hoping to get a referral back to CAMHS (prob out of area) as the in attentive part of the ADHD is causing dd great difficulties. We've just got a statement for her and the school state that she rarely manages to work independently and when she does it's never for more than 5 mins! It also hinders her ability to safely cross roads as she forgets to look!!