10 Signs You Have ADHD and Autism

Hi! I'm Orion Kelly and I'm Autistic. On this video I give you 10 signs that you may have ADHD and be Autistic. Plus, I share my personal lived experiences as an #actuallyautistic person. #adhd #orionkelly #autism #asd #autismsigns #whatautismfeelslike

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ABOUT ORION:
Orion Kelly is an #ActuallyAutistic vlogger (YouTuber), podcaster, radio host, actor, keynote speaker and Autistic advocate based in Australia. Orion is all about helping you increase your understanding, acceptance and appreciation of Autistic people.

#AutisticVoices #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #Autism #OrionKelly #ThatAutisticGuy #ASD

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[winternightmarecrochet]

Being simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed is the biggest sign, as well as the biggest challenge in my opinion 😅

[lanelledwards]

I think the video might be better named as the similar traits that both ADHD & Autism people have because it didn’t really address how someone who has both would present. I get that you might not be able to answer that but it might be cool to do a collab with someone who has both and someone who has only ADHD to do a comparison. Either way great job🎉

[travisgraham]

Summary for your convenience:
1 social interaction
2 repetitive behaviors (stimming)
3 sensory sensitivies
4 hyperactivity
5 impulsivity
6 difficulty with organization
7 forgetfulness
8 poor attention span
9 difficulty in learning
10 intense interests

[CoffeeTeaCrochet]

I feel like my ADHD hyperfixations and autistic special interests sort of merge into a merry-go-round of fixated special interests that I rotate out intermittently. 😅
Things that I've been interested in my entire life that I'll focus on and then put to the side to focus on something else or something different, but never fully dropping the interest. It just sort of goes dormant until my interest in it is re-ignited. And occasionally new things will get added to the merry-go-round.

[mccannger]

For me the biggest thing with being an AuDHDer is the conflict between special interests and the inability to focus. Talk about two things that don’t work well together! 😅

The autism wants me to focus on a special interest…the adhd wants me…sorry, red squirrel 🐿️, to jump around like crazy.

And then the maddest thing happens…I start reading or watching something and what feels like two minutes later and it’s actually hours and hours. If only I could command this hyperfocus!

…And then adhd brain kicks in and I totally lose interest in the thing and can’t get started with it anymore…

A mad life 😂

[SzymonSaysStuff]

I think you listed off some issues that people with either condition can have, but you didn't mention any of the things that are relevant only when you actually have BOTH.

As an example, the social thing. I feel deeply uncomfortable in social interactions, especially with groups of people, etc.

However, I'm so impulsive that I often just... Forget? And jump into those conversations anyway and accidentally dominate them and I'm super loud and then when I get back home I'm extremely drain because my autistic side was in the backseat the whole time scared shitless about not being able to control the situation. 😅

[ferfer]

I wasn't expecting common signs between those two; I was rather expecting signs that you have both conditions

[lengyelszunyog]

having both feels like having two separate entities in your head that totally sabotage each other 24/7 :D I must say I have so much respect for you, Orion. I work in multinational company and yesterday I actually attended a zoom call with Diversity team, and we spoke about neurodiversity (finally!). I was one of the panelists and I spoke about my experiences as a neurodivergent employee, and it was SO HARD.. i got so many feedbacks and words of support after that, thanking me for bringing up the topic, but I never imagined it would be so hard to openly talk about it. Maybe it's the decades of being convinced that "you are normal but weird, don't make big theory about it, just try being more open!"..

[Laezar]

Actually all of those are kinda terrible. Because you're focusing on the overlapping symptoms so they can only tell you that you can have ADHD "OR" Autism not "AND".

Figuring out I was AuDHD was more about figuring out the non overlapping symptoms like, needing predictibility as part of autism but needing novelty as part of ADHD. Or struggling to focus even on things that I'm deeply engaged with. Difficulty resting or chilling without doing anything is clearly ADHD, but needing clear established rules is clearly autism. Stuff like that are much more useful.

The overlapping symptoms don't discriminate anything, you'd have them either way. It's like, if I was trying to figure out if there are blue marbles, red marbles or both in a bag. If I shake the bag I can hear the marbles, I know blue marbles make that sound, I know red marbles make that sound so I can be sure there are marbles (for the analogy : That I'm not neurotypical) but it doesn't help me figure out what specific marbles are in the back (Autism, ADHD or both), so I need to find tests that discriminate between the different marble types. Assuming I can't open the bag, maybe I know that only red marbles create small craters on their surface because of what they're composed of letting air bubbles explode, so I can feel through the bag and if I feel a marble with a crater then I can be confident there are red marbles because it's a property that's exclusive to them. And if I want to prove that there are blue marbles I'll need to find a similar property exclusive to blue marbles (maybe they crack below a certain temperature, I dunno that's just an analogy I'm not a marble expert xD).

So ideally if you want to figure out if you're AuDHD it's on those non overlapping symptoms you need to focus!

[stevedryden]

I Was diagnosed with autism and adhd two weeks ago and this resonated with me.

[Iurton]

Between starting the video and getting to #8, I opened four tabs, wrote three messages to friends and started planning my meals for the week. But I still made it. Thank you for being proud of me <3

[Constantine_Aurelian]

Reading these comments and seeing people have felt the same things means a lot thanks for existing yo

[johndoeyedoe]

I've always known I was different. Stimming helps and stimming helped me when I needed to try and focus so I just shook my knees like crazy and still do. My working short term memory is terrible at times, completely lost my phone today in my home. You fade in and out of focus during this video, I'm just glad I am interested in this topic. Other you tube videos I am less interested in I struggle to watch just a couple minutes. You are more interesting as a person and you don't sound boring, unlike some other content creators.

ADHD and worked in health care. Trust me a list is the most important thing for a nurse with ADHD. EVERYTHING went on the list. It was the only way I could cope with that type of work.

[yuuokami]

I am medically diagnose with ADHD and I highly suspect that I also have Autism. So this definitely resonated with me.

[mbdawg]

This should be captioned “Similarities between ADHD and Autism”

[EmbaLarsen]

As several others have pointed out, this is more a listing of overlapping symptoms rather than having both diagnosis.

Examples of living with both ADHD and autism:

- You get easily overstimulated, but when you accommodate for your autism who likes routines and stability; your ADHD says HEY, THIS IS BORING! LET'S HAVE CHANGE!
And if you accommodate for the ADHD side and change things up everyday, your autism side screams for stability.

- You have the urge to be a perfectionist and do things slowly and detailed (autism), but at the same time you don't have patience for that (ADHD)

- Your ADHD would love to attend a big party, while your autism gets overwhelmed just by the thought and wants to stay at home with a few friends.

..and the list goes on. Even though they are similar in some ways, they have to be accommodated in opposite ways, which make them quite difficult to live with.

[SOSPuff]

Well look at that! At age 38, formally diagnosed as both Level 1 and Combined with Inattentive predominance on Monday, and boom, a video that talks about the quirks of having both simultaneously. (I discovered your videos last week, they're great, thank you)

[firstlastname]

Here are my symptoms. I feel like I can focus if the thing doesn’t really require really any mental effort; I basically have brain fog and like zero mental clarity. The big idea tho is that I CANT THINK at all. My mind basically blanks. This also affects my speech. I have trouble communicating to people (it’s like my brain doesn’t know what to say) and this has hurt my relationship with friends and family. I only have rambling thoughts when I’m trying to fall asleep; sometimes my feet are restless.


I’m constantly fiddling with my hands and hair twirling, but you will never see me tapping my fingers or legs so idk if that still falls under “fidgeting”. I will occasionally shift my body while seated so nothing too noticeable. When waiting in line, I’m constantly re directing my gaze so i don’t appear awkward, is this considered being impatient? have a very poor working memory; I constantly misplace things and can’t recall information. For example, I’ll learn information at school and then maybe like 2 weeks later, I will have completely forgotten the material. I won’t be able to recall anything I just learned which is extremely frustrating. This of course affects my decision making. I can’t problem solve.

I do struggle with a little bit of impulsivity. Instant gratification and procrastination. I turned in a essay 1 week overdue because I couldn’t pull myself to even start it. Thinking of words to type and organizing seems so boring and it takes me much longer than everyone else to complete it like everything else. I struggle with instruction unless there is visual aid. It’s like when they’re trying to explain something, idk what the hell they’re talking about and thus, get lost in their words. I try desperately to understand and I’ll act like I’m following along so I don’t appear like I’m not listening. Could this be some form of processing disorder or is it that I just can’t Concentrate??

I want to be social I really do, but there’s this mental block. I avoid things like presenting in class, participation, expressing opinions, etc.

I am going to see my pediatrician so I will let y’all know what happens. ty 🙏

[Taze_noob]

These are shared traits and not traits of someone with both. A more accurate trait would be something like being to bored in your house because very thing is the same but not wanting to go out because of sensory overload. Or making a mess but your autistic side has to have order so it bothers you after a bit.

[silverymoon]

I ticked all 10 😮 but I don't think I win a prize. I hope your lists and explanations will be in your book as I do find them so very helpful. Along with your helpful tips on overcoming challenges of autism & ADHD. Keep up the great work! 😊