Autism without ADHD - What are the differences between ADHD and Autism?

What are the differences between ADHD and Autism? We know there is a high overlap between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism as they share some common traits and one person can have both. However, what does autism look like without ADHD? Could it be differences in sensory needs or routines? In this week’s video, I will share some examples based on my personal experience that even professionals said that I do not have ADHD.

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🎞️Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:27 My visit to the psychologist
1:38 The ADHD Test
3:08 Structure and Routine
6:44 Emotional Regulation
8:02 Procrastination and Emotions
9:28 Sensory aversion towards something
12:11 Final thought

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👋Welcome to Autism From The Inside!!!

If you're autistic or think you or someone you love might be on the autism spectrum, this channel is for you!
I'm Paul Micallef, and I discovered my own autism at age 30.

Yes, I know, I don't look autistic. That's exactly why I started this channel in the first place because if I didn't show you, you would never know.

Autism affects many (if not all!) aspects of our lives, so on this channel, I want to show you what Autism looks like in real people and give you some insight into what's happening for us on the inside. We'll break down myths and misconceptions, discuss how to embrace autism and live well, and share what it's like to be an autistic person.

Join me as I share what I've found along my journey, so you don't have to learn it the hard way.

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Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my channel!

Peace,

~ Paul

#autism #asd #autismawareness

[spacevspitch]

I feel like my neurodivergent traits combined with my trauma and mental health issues are so mixed up, it's hard to tease everything everything apart and know what's what.

[jliller]

My ASD + ADHD:

I crave routines and pre-made decisions to avoid analysis paralysis about some things (ex: lunch) AND I'm a procrastinator about tedious, repetitive tasks (ex: cleaning).

Some over-stimulation drains me (socializing), other over-stimulation can get me upset (trying to focus in a noisy enviroment).

I love making lists and I'm terrible about following them.

[bosstowndynamics]

I would caveat this by saying that it can be obvious to a professional that you do have autism or ADHD, but declaring that someone obviously *doesn't* is hazardous, and frequently results in underdiagnosis. There's plenty of stories online of people being told they obviously don't have ADHD because they got As at school, despite the fact that ADHDers can sometimes hyperfocus on academic tasks and sometimes keep up with homework by succeeding at doing it all at the very last minute...

[NickCombs]

Oh man I do that procrastination as motivation thing all the time. The only thing that really helps is having someone I care about depend on me to get the thing done.

[Fittiboy]

8:19 "That sounds like a stressful nightmare!"
It sounds like a stressful nightmare mostly because it _is_ a stressful nightmare! Source: I'm AuDHD.

[wdc_nathan]

This is one of the clearest presentations I’ve seen on this topic. Kudos to you! I’m diagnosed AuDHD and this just further reinforces the diagnosis. Brilliant. To one of your examples, I won’t just be mildly annoyed with noises or lights or smells or other triggers. I’ll be dysregulated to the point of rage or even meltdown if I can’t remove myself from the situation, and I won’t be able to just ignore it or push through. I also highly resonated with the “strategic procrastination” to use the urgency of a deadline to complete tasks that aren’t stimulating to me.

[nathanhallisey]

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021 aged 42. Also been told I am autistic especially by my autistic adult child. I drive a truck full time and have a huge amount of annual leave. I barely make it during the weekend. I can't handle taking weeks off work. A few years ago the boss put me in the office for two days to work on a project. It was painful. I put my earbuds in and listened to the world's best radio station, Triple R. I don't like silence. I love music all the time.

[rgfs]

I 100% agree that we need a general theory of neurodiversity

[ivanaamidzic]

I am obviously autistic and obviously don't have ADHD. My ADHD co-workers and friends tell me I am obviously autistic and tend to hyperfocus on doing one thing and/or repeat one and the same action for hours on end. Because everything can be converted to a music count and repeated in forever, which I enjoy so very much. It's like a space texture that gives me so much joy.

[shaynaformity]

It was so validating to hear about sensory overstimulation being emotionally dysregulating. I've never heard anyone put it that way, and it made me tear up a little (in a good way)! But I also have to say that being detail oriented does not mean that you don't have ADHD. I have inattentive type ADHD and autism, and I can be very detail oriented. I can follow every single instruction to make sure I get an A on a paper, I'm an excellent proofreader, but I can also fail to notice the pumpkin that had been sitting on the kitchen table for a week. A tip that might help folks with procrastination: I find body doubling to be very helpful. I'll meet a friend on a video call and tell them what I want to get done, and they might have to remind me to take a step if I get distracted by being helpful to them about whatever they're working on. That way, I can accomplish something before the deadline, so it's not hanging over me and making me feel dread and pressured. Most of the time it's easier than I expect it will be, but sometimes it actually is hard and painful, but I spend a few minutes getting it done or at least doing a chunk of it, and that's such a relief. And my friends are always happy that they were able to help.

[markday]

Before watching this video, I was certain I have autism, and pretty sure I don't have ADHD. This video reinforced that assessment.

Your comments about University, all-nighters, and cramming for exams really resonated with me. Rather than pull an all-nighter, I'm much better off waking up early and doing the thing while my brain is working at peak efficiency (and when nobody else is likely to be awake to bother me). I paid attention throughout the quarter/semester; if I haven't learned the material by a few days before the exam, no amount of cramming is going to improve the situation; in fact, it might just confuse me more. My roommate and I would go play pool instead of cramming. No wait for a table when everyone else is cramming.

I'm going to go take the ADHD test you did, in hopes that it makes me even more convinced.

You mentioned suppressing emotions. I've certainly done that, and sometimes still do that. But I learned the hard way that it's not possible to keep them suppressed for long periods of time. I found that I'm better off acknowledging the emotions are there, maybe even make an effort to feel them; then control how I react and respond to those emotions. I also find that it takes conscious processing to detect emotions in others. I sometimes turn down (or off) that conscious processing when I'm not in a position to receive those emotions (typically because I am overwhelmed).

[blackmber]

The last bit is kind of what helps me deal with impostor syndrome. Even though we have terminology and definitions and diagnostic criteria, we don’t necessarily know exactly what autism is. What I know is that autism describes my differences and needs more accurately than any other description I’ve found. For some other people, ADHD is a better description, and others need both to explain their experience. There will be more research and discoveries in the future, but for now it’s enough to know that people have different needs and experiences and that’s okay.

[nestrior]

I pretty definitely am both. And the conflict is as fascinating as it is aggravating at times. Couple that with a co-occurrence rate of anywhere between 30 to 70% (50-70% according to a 2022 paper) and it's a highly interesting topic. Something is very similar, yet there also are lines and I hope to learn more about them in this video.



But I think one can really start to ask the question "Is there one without the other?" Maybe a topic for later cause I feel that can quickly become a discussion about neurotypes and how we define "disorders." Add to that how the modern field of biology came to be (kudos to Alexander Avila and his recent video) and we are getting deep into the weeds. "Efficiency, reproduction of identical results becoming paramount and "diverging" neurotypes not fitting into this" is all I will say before I infodump.

[OperationDarkside]

Trigger warning!
I obviously have both. But at my recent autism diagnosis attempt the people assessing my, didn't think so. Stuff like, because I didn't loose my temper all the time, because I can finish a puzzle without fuzzing for hours about the pattern, because I can point at stuff, because I CAN make eye contact (nobody asked if it's hard to do), they didn't even ask about my sensory issues, because a traumatic childhood and Autism never occurs together (*insert hurtful insults*), because they talked to my mother who thought I was normal (guess why she thought that), because the stress-related issues and stimming are a result of a bad childhood, because I EVER held a job. I would have agreed, IF IT WAS the 1970s. And those people were likely under 40 years old. The paper tests I filled out were ignored, because "people coming for an autism diagnosis often feel autistic" and the practical tests were obviously for children under the age of 6.
This all would make sense, if a diagnosis would grant me a life-long monthly sickness payout of >5000€ without working and they need to weed out people who need it, but all I need is a piece of paper making me able to ask for special working conditions and recognition of my disability.
Sorry for venting. I hope you'll have a better experience than me.

[junorus]

There are things you are mentioning I am "I am exactly like that!" and there are "I am completely opposite". But I got ADHD diagnosis this week. You helped me a lot to understand myself better. Now having proof about being AuDHD I understand my whole life so much better.

[NickSBailey]

listening to that further confirms I'm a mix of both, constantly leaving tasks right to the end of the deadline my pattern is always the same I'll get a chunk done at the start of the window because I know as you said it is a stressful nightmare to do it late but then I hit a wall and can't do the bulk of it until the very end, must seem like laziness to others but I really stress and feel guilty for not being able to do these things

[kensears]

My autism discovery was in May 2023. Since then it has been a whole year's worth of 65+ years of life coming into startlingly clear, sharp-edged relief, so crisp and unmistakable as to be nearly frightening at times, certainly jarring and "shaking, " though always in a deeply good, integrating way. In short, the discovery transmuted my whole past. By changing absolutely nothing, of course, except for the key that unlocked its intrinsic, plaguing mystery. But the revelations continue. Your video today is perhaps the most boat-rocking moment I've had in many months now. It cannot, of course, match the seismic event of my autism discovery (and it shouldn't), but it's really quite a ways up there on the scale. You really pinned something down today that breaks open a "whole 'nuther" mystery for me, that being the deeply emotional way, the frenetic internal frustration/panic, the feeling of being assaulted and being too upset to cope with insanely unintelligible things like, say, small talk, when there's a sensory bombardment under way (like hyped-up sound speakers blaring intense bass tones) all around us. The sensation is something like being in the Blitz on a London street, the bombs falling all around, while some idiot walks up to you and asks your opinion on the relative merits of the three-minute or four-minute boiled egg. Very recently I took one of these tests on ADHD and, just like my shock a year ago when the autism tests all agreed unanimously that I was "significantly autistic, " I was "jarred frozen, " if that makes any sense, when this ADHD test asserted that, yes, I very likely had ADHD. I haven't thought much about it since then, though, mostly I think because I couldn't plug that factoid into a real-life felt niche--like, okay, so how does that show up? Until your video today.

[guitarmann]

Paul, you and I are so similar haha. I know wayyy more audhd folks than just autism like me so it’s nice to hear from someone like me!
The procrastination part resonated most. It’s so illogical and I’m stressed until I’m on top of things. I could relate about sensory sensitivities too. Cheers!

[PeteLewisWoodwork]

As a carpenter/joiner, I hate the thought of being at the same bench doing the same task day in, day out. In my work, I like a lot of variety because I love to learn - and learning means I have to constantly concentrate and focus. Learning is a drug to me. So, in my ideal world, I am always being challenged anew while also always progressing using the same approaches and routines that I have acquired over many years. That is what gives me job satisfaction - same tools, different project...over and over again.

[Awakenedkarolina]

I’m struggling to sort out what is my autistic side, whether or not I have ADHD, and what is the result of a traumatic brain injury (which made me even more sensitive, decreased my executive capacity and negatively affected my ability to express myself especially when tired or in pain). I don’t so much care about labels as I care about understanding what’s happening and being understood.