ASD/ADHD/Giftedness Venn diagram

[MEmama]

This diagram has been floating around for awhile, but I thought it might be helpful for anyone wondering if their kid is on the spectrum and/or has ADHD, or how to make sense of all their contradictions.

[Carrie12345]

😂 
The more mainstream these understandings become, the less my husband is going to be able to get away with labeling me with “diet” autism. 

(The adhd and “giftedness” are confirmed. And then the fact that my sisters and I all make ASD kids…)

[Guest]

Also good for understanding spouse…or self. 

[MEmama]

5 minutes ago, Quill said:

Also good for understanding spouse…or self. 

Yeah, there’s nothing like figuring out your kid has all sorts of diagnoses to realize there’s a reason your family of origin is the way they are (including oneself). 

[EKS]

It would be fascinating to add dyslexia to the diagram.

[Serenade]

This is very interesting.  Thanks for posting it.  I have never seen it before.

[MEmama]

Here’s one without the giftedness.

I read a lot of discussion about whether ADHD and autism are actually one and the same, just varying presentations. The overlap on this diagram seems like it’s making a good case.

 

[Rosie_0801]

7 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Here’s one without the giftedness.

I read a lot of discussion about whether ADHD and autism are actually one and the same, just varying presentations. The overlap on this diagram seems like it’s making a good case.

They feel like entirely different dialects to me.

[MEmama]

1 minute ago, Rosie_0801 said:

They feel like entirely different dialects to me.

Fascinating.

Even some of the ADHD and ASD specific presentations listed are actually very similar to one another, except for those that are complete opposites. 
 

Maybe it makes sense to me how closely they must be related because each one describes my DS. My dad once asked which of the presentations in the first diagram fit DS; I think he was expecting to hear a few and had no idea to process it when I told him literally every.single one (except one I’m unsure about). He’s a spicy kid, lol! 

[Storygirl]

The diagram is interesting. There is an overlap of what one can list as symptoms, and for some people, it can be hard to tease out the root cause of behaviors and thinking.

BUT I have two kids with ADHD. And they are practically polar opposites of each other in personality, thinking, and learning profiles. Both have had psychological testing, so we can compare data, as well as what we see in them daily. One has autism, and the other is clearly not at all autistic. What they both have is weakness in executive functioning.

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, Storygirl said:

The diagram is interesting. There is an overlap of what one can list as symptoms, and for some people, it can be hard to tease out the root cause of behaviors and thinking.

BUT I have two kids with ADHD. And they are practically polar opposites of each other in personality, thinking, and learning profiles. Both have had psychological testing, so we can compare data, as well as what we see in them daily. One has autism, and the other is clearly not at all autistic. What they both have is weakness in executive functioning.

My daughter and I are also very different ADHDers.  *For us*, when you dig deep, we’re super the same. We just present differently on the outside.

[Storygirl]

2 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

My daughter and I are also very different ADHDers.  *For us*, when you dig deep, we’re super the same. We just present differently on the outside.

That makes sense! My kids are not genetically related to each other, so there are huge differences.

[kbutton]

My ASD + ADHD son has really good EF. Yes, he's had help honing this, but he has always gravitated toward making things better himself when he could. He was a little hyperactive as a kid, but NOTHING like some kids I've met who have moderate to severe hyperactivity. His real issue has always been impulsivity. Meds basically mop that up entirely. 

The two other people in the house with "just" ADHD? 😬 It's like they are born to chaos of all kinds. 

All are proven to be or likely to be gifted. 

And then there are the times the non-ASD people seem more autistic than my ASD kid. I swear it's very situational with them, but with my ASD kid, it's a different but consistent operating system. The ADHD-only people seem much more wild card--one day they are using one way of operating, and the next day, it's totally different. We joke that the only thing consistent about one of our ADHD family members is their inconsistency (except, of course, for the most maddening quirks--those are persistent).

[Spryte]

Thank you for this.

We just received diagnoses for *all three* of these today. Hours ago. Reeling, trying to make sense of it all, and boom — the perfect diagram to get started. The Hive blows me away.

Just — thanks.

(oh, and open to any advice on where to start with resources, other than the ones straight from the doc)

Edited January 6, 2023 by Spryte

[MEmama]

4 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Thank you for this.

We just received diagnoses for *all three* of these today. Hours ago. Reeling, trying to make sense of it all, and boom — the perfect diagram to get started. The Hive blows me away.

Just — thanks.

((Hugs))

[MEmama]

27 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Thank you for this.

We just received diagnoses for *all three* of these today. Hours ago. Reeling, trying to make sense of it all, and boom — the perfect diagram to get started. The Hive blows me away.

Just — thanks.

(oh, and open to any advice on where to start with resources, other than the ones straight from the doc)

Honestly, I get a lot of insight and information from Reddit. R/adhd overwhelms me so I mostly read r/autisticwithADHD. 

[FreyaO]

I would put "pattern recognition" in the area overlapping between ASD and giftedness. But yeah, I like it.

[Arcadia]

35 minutes ago, Spryte said:

 

(oh, and open to any advice on where to start with resources, other than the ones straight from the doc)

You can hang out at the learning challenges subforum.

[Brittany1116]

There is an interesting youtube video about giftedness being special needs or something... I will have to find it again. 

 

Here we go:

https://youtu.be/QUjYy4Ksy1E

Edited January 7, 2023 by Brittany1116

[Spryte]

17 hours ago, Arcadia said:

You can hang out at the learning challenges subforum.

Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve peeked over there. Kid graduated from HS last year, has been in a gap year trying to figure things out (there was a three year wait list for the testing, so it was in process for some time), and is just starting classes this spring. I’m not sure where to find more support for older teens /young adults just diagnosed. We’re terribly late.

[Pawz4me]

28 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve peeked over there. Kid graduated from HS last year, has been in a gap year trying to figure things out (there was a three year wait list for the testing, so it was in process for some time), and is just starting classes this spring. I’m not sure where to find more support for older teens /young adults just diagnosed. We’re terribly late.

There's a group for parents of young adults with ASD --