Is there benefit in getting an ADHD diagnosis on top of ASD?

[Blossom4538]

Hi all,
Anyone pursued an adhd diagnosis at all, on top of ASD? I appreciate there are many overlaps and co-morbidities, so imagine DD likely has ADHD traits, just wondered if any benefit in getting a diagnosis and are behavioural strategies any different?

We are coming at this the other way round. Our DS has a diagnosis of ADHD and is currently under assessment for ASD

I would say the main benefit of diagnosis would be to access medication. Our boy massively struggles with concentration and focus at school and it was impacting on his work, because of this we did decide to medicate and it has massively improved his quality of life both in and out of school.

Strategy wise our DS's school have been fantastic. They already have things in place based on issues potentially due to ASD and not ADHD. In this sense and if the school is already providing adequate support then I wouldn't expect a great deal of change once we know if he does in fact have ASD. It could well be the same for you.

It may be beneficial to peruse it now, even if you don't decide to medicate you know it might be possible for the future.

I was going to say medication and presumably some advice is different or works better for children with adhd.
Ive seen children where when they recieve medication for the adhd you can' 'see' the autism better if that makes sense so the right stategies can be put in place that help their particular profile of autism.

For us it meant we could medicate the adhd which has helped him massively at school As now he has some chance of focusing

My DD has a dual diagnosis. ASD first, then ADHD. It means her ADHD is medicated which is helping, but the downside is her ASD traits (rituals, stimming etc) are more pronounced as she can focus on them more if you know what I mean.

Helped with education too I reckon, having a formal diagnosis. Means when transitioning to college they’ll have to take it into account (I’m looking at specialist post 16 provision which is very expensive and the LEA do everything to try and steer you to other options).

I'm in this spot right now. DS got his ASD diagnosis two and a half years ago, and I always thought he has ADHD, too, but didn't pursue formal diagnosis till recently. I say recently, it took school getting an EP in and she agreed to refer him using her assessment as a basis (GP's request failed); this was September, and he's now on CAMHS waiting list after passing the initial screening.

For us, the purpose is to trial medication in the hopes it helps his focus and concentration at school/with school work. It's been a real issue since year 1, he's now at the end of year 5, and has never reached age-related expectations. He's failing now and he'll fail in the future, and he's now fully aware of it and gets upset (he's in intervention groups but nothing has helped significantly).

Two things - 1) Medication and 2) They get to see a specialist every 6 months to a year so we can talk through problems they're having.

In our area, an ASD diagnosis alone means you never see anyone to talk through problems again (especially if no EHCP so the school isn't interested either). Pretty brutal.