ADHD now possibly autism…

[Deedyn]

My adult DD was diagnosed with ADHD last year. This was done privately.

Having now come to the end of trying medications, sadly none of them have worked (stimulants and non stimulants). The Psychologist now is suggesting that due to this it may be worth considering further tests to see if she is autistic. My DD is not happy with this and feels she isn’t. She suffers with anxiety although he hasn’t mentioned treatment in this regard. I don’t see any communication issues, I know she quirky, can focus on certain things but then don’t we all if it interests us. My OH would like her to agree to this but my question is, how can it be determined? I know more about ADHD but very little about autism.
I’m more confused than ever now, any advice welcome, thanks

My Ds was diagnosed with Asperger's at four wasn't until his specialist school mentioned it at 11 that I considered ADHD. From there it took 4 years and many fights to get that diagnosed, medication has helped him enormously. I think ADHD is confirmed IF medication 'works'.
Maybe work on your daughters anxiety find a good therapist let her make her own decisions about further tests. Girls with ASD can be very good at masking their issues.

It's very common to have ASD and ADHD and often other things too.

"Quirky" is often used as descriptor for someone showing neurodiverse traits. There's a lot of overlap of traits in several conditions.

Does her quirkiness become more evident to you the more her anxiety increases? If so, that's an indicator that further assessment would be advisable.

Autism presents very differently in girls and women. Have a look at the Girl with the Curly Hair and Purple Ella to see if anything rings any bells.

Autism is determined by assessment and the criteria have to be seen to have been present from a young age. As parent, you'll be asked a lot about her behaviour as a child and asked to provide developmental milestone history - hopefully you'll have this from the ADHD assessment.

www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism/autistic-women-and-girls
The NAS really push the Lorna Wing Centre for diagnosis of girls and women, they are the gold Standard. www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/diagnosticservices

Daphne Keen is also very well known for diagnosing girls, as her website says, "generally" under the age of 16, although you could always ask. www.daphnekeen.co.uk

Some private diagnostic services ask for a GP referral, so you could always ask them for diagnosticians in your area.

Has she done the AQ test online? www.wired.com/2001/12/aqtest/ That's very general indicator of autistic traits, but by no means definitive. Only professionals can unpick all of the complexities to decide if your DD is autistic or not, and if not, if she has any other neurodiverse condition(s).

Remember that no two people with autism present in the same way.

@BlankTimes; Thanks for this, I’ll look into this further.