There is little agreement about the definition of Autism and ADHD diagnoses, even amongst those responsible for providing a diagnosis. Diagnoses are based on identifying a number of behavioural traits but there can be many different reasons for a particular pattern of behaviour.
The symptoms of trauma are often prevalent, both from the trauma of feeling different and from being vulnerable to abuse as a result of going along with demands of others. Often there is childhood trauma from being parented by one or more parents with unrecognised Autism and/or ADHD.
It’s not surprising that there is little agreement about how Autistic and ADHD people might present when thriving with good mental health, as so much of the focus is on associated issues. Many mental health problems result from the social pressures of trying to fit in, including a loss of your true sense of self. This sense of being weird and faulty can severely impact self esteem and self worth. Anxiety, depression and a 'busy brain' may become a way of life and you may also suffer with emotional overwhelm, exhaustion or burnout.
As an AuDHD person navigating life in a neurotypical world, there are some approaches that I have found much more effective in reducing the negative impacts and recovering the positive aspects of being AuDHD.
I find it helpful to reframe ‘symptoms’ and ‘diagnostic criteria’ as natural responses to sensory difference. The association with sensory difference has been demonstrated in a great deal of research and more recently it has been demonstrated that this is very similar between those with an Autism or ADHD diagnosis (Scheerer et al., 2024).
Sensory difference can be thought of as dealing with a much larger volume or intensity of sensory information than is ‘typical’. This is from all the senses, including the less acknowledged senses of interoception, proprioception and vestibular.
It makes sense that this results in a ‘bottom up’ way of processing information, which starts with a large amount of detail. The brain then has to find a way to work out what detail to pay attention to. This contrasts with the neurotypical ‘top down’ processing style which can take in a less detailed broad perspective and then focus in on detail as necessary.
This sensory processing difference is sometimes noticeable as hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity or sensory seeking behaviours. However, it can also be camouflaged by parts of self which develop ways to manage the volume of information. ‘Masking’ is recognised as a way of coping that can lead to mental health issues and a loss of the sense of self.
An Internal Family systems Therapy informed approach can be really helpful in identifying and understanding these parts of self and ‘unmasking’ safely. Parts often have to work exceptionally hard to deal with the sensory overwhelm and also to manage the pain of being treated as over sensitive since childhood. Developing an understanding and compassion for all our parts can be transformative.
If you would like to explore more about this approach, please don’t hesitate to book an introductory chat with me.
Reference:
Scheerer, N.E. et al. (2024) “Transdiagnostic Patterns of Sensory Processing in Autism and ADHD,” Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 54(1), pp. 280–292. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05798-3.
