so im not a mental health professional, so keep my response to this with a grain of salt, but this is my understanding as someone with adhd who works as a teacher and has learned about these conditions and how they work and has worked with kids with them (and has a brother on the spectrum)
the core of adhd is problems with executive functioning- this is a series of functions that primarily take place in the frontal cortex of the brain which cover goal-making, prioritization of and completion of tasks, motivation, attention, focus, time management, organization, and impulse control - if your primary difficulties are with these, it’s more likely adhd
autism revolves around issues of sensory processing, cognitive empathy, communication and language processing; someone with adhd may have issues with sensory processing, but this is more likely to interfere with their ability to focus; they are much less likely to have a full on sensory overload meltdown - in fact I’ve never seen that in a student with adhd but I have seen it in students with autism; there’s also differences with empathy (which I go into later)
people with adhd and autism have strong relationships with routines and rules but in different ways - in adhd the routines they are used to or they create for themselves can help them remember to complete tasks or manage their time. changes in routine make it more difficult because the accommodation is taken away leading to forgetfulness or disorganization which can be distressing. for someone with autism the routine itself is important and comforting and any break in routine is incredibly distressing - not because of a difficulty in executive disfunction like for someone with adhd, but because of the change itself. an example i can give you is an autistic student of mine always had to get up from his desk and watch when the trolley went by - this routine was necessary to him even though it didn’t help him complete his work in any way - whereas for me, a class time or weekly meeting changing causes me stress because I am more likely to forget it or be late since the routine helps me remember
adhd & autism can both result in social issues but for different reasons. with adhd the problems usually stem from lack of impulse control, hyperactivity, day dreaming and/or special interests and while autism can include those issues, if you also have difficulty reading & using social cues and communication it’s more likely to be autism not adhd.
It’s also not uncommon for someone on the spectrum to have a disinterest in socializing or even in having friends - I’ve had multiple students who were probably on the spectrum who were perfectly happy being alone and not having any friends at all, but I feel like that is really rare among kids with adhd who are more likely to have at least one or two close friends and if not, be very unhappy - this isn’t to say no one on the autism spectrum wants friends or has friends or is sad about being unliked, just that if you remember being content being alone as a kid or having a tendency to not really socialize with people, that’s more likely autism than adhd
both ppl with autism & adhd may have special interests & info dump - main difference would probably be person with adhd has more awareness when ppl are losing interest or think they’re weird but can’t help themselves and a person with autism is less likely to notice or recognize what others think / how they react
both ppl with autism & adhd may stim (do repetitive movements) but the stimming can differ and be motivated by different things. someone with adhd may use a fidget spinner or move back and forth in an rolling chair or pace or doodle to help them concentrate or because of hyperactivity. if someone with adhd is prevented from stimming it probably would not cause them emotional distress in and of itself: it would likely make it harder for them to concentrate or offset hyperactivity and that could cause frustration but the act itself is actually probably not that important. letting out a kid with adhd for recess early or giving them another outlet would probably work. but for someone with autism it could result in a meltdown or a complete inability to do a task bc the stim itself feels necessary or highly important or comforting. people with autism are also more likely to stim in more obvious or socially “unacceptable ways” like rocking back and forth, making certain sounds, etc. Ofc not all people autism do this, but it can happen in autism but I’ve never seen it in adhd
procrastination is more of an adhd issue - do you procrastinate and put off things even things you enjoy? like a tv show you keep meaning to watch, a friend you keep meaning to call? do even your special interests get put off sometimes? more likely to be adhd than autism
organization is more of a problem for adhd; a kid with a super messy backpack and chaotic room who keeps forgetting and losing their homework is more likely to have adhd; a kid who keeps everything in a particular place and is really upset by things being moved or changed is more likely to have autism
difficulty with speaking or processing language is a symptom of autism which can include not understanding what people are saying, or having moments where you find yourself unable to talk (selective mutism) - some ppl with autism have tendencies like echolalia where they repeat things people say or find it very hard to put thoughts and feelings into words; ADHD does not include these symptoms - in fact this was the major difference between me (kid with adhd) and my brother (kid with autism) - i am a very communicative person who loves language, my brother struggled with expressing himself in words growing up
students I had with autism had a lot of trouble drawing inferences or reading between the lines but they did very well with facts, For instance, when we would read passages together, they would scan the passages for specific details, but they had a hard time stating the main idea or inferring what was suggested or describing character traits and feelings. I had a student who could rattle off all the presidents and first ladies and lots of facts about classical musicians but couldn’t tell you what a character was feeling in a scene or what the main idea of an article was. If that feels familiar you more likely have autism than adhd
difficulty with cognitive empathy is a common issue for autism but not for adhd. you might say tactless things if you have adhd but you’re more likely to say dumb shit and regret it due to impulse control whereas with autism you’d be confused as to why people are upset at you or you might simply have difficulty understanding how others think and feel. a common misconception is autistic people are cold or don’t care about others NOT TRUE AT ALL - cognitive empathy doesn’t mean you don’t FEEL for others, it means you have trouble putting yourself in other people’s shoes - adhd does not cause issues with this - it more causes issues with impulse control and keeping up with relationships due to issues with goal-setting, remembering social engagements, etc
people should feel free to add more
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