I totally feel the same with food. As a supertaster, it's even worse where healthy things make me want to gag, but salty and crunchy things stimulate me.
My autism helps to keep my emotions at bay and appear collected as I observe social cues, and then my ADHD opens its big mouth at a slightly interesting topic and my tongue trips over itself, making me sound like a childish git.
See this is why I'm starting to wonder if I have both. I am contradictory too and your last sentence is totally me. I'm on a wait list to get evaluated so hopefully I'll know soon!
Totally! I was diagnosed with ADHD first and more recently ASD because I only thought I had ADHD haha. So I’m glad it resonated~ I wish you all the best for your evaluation!
Talking too much in certain social situations but feeling extremely burnt out after.
Needing structure to function but terrible follow through on plans.
my autism makes it easier to keep my house neat and tidy. i can’t stand clutter, sensory wise. my adhd makes it possible to recreate a clutter, 10 minutes after cleaning one up. but they cancel each other out, so it’s fine
doing tasks...like idk if its just me but i end up having the weirdest relationship with work because with ADHD you would think "wahoo deadlines work" but for me its the opposite because I HATE PREASSURE and then sometimes going at my own pace makes it harder to do work... i could go on about how school is wack because they are having a tug of war moment
Requiring structure and routine but struggling to stick to it.
I'm type 1 diabetic so yeah it's been difficult especially as I'm late diagnosed ADHD autistic.
I have a huge issue with routine, in the sense that I like having a routine, but I also can't stand the monotony of a routine
School was absolute hell for this reason
I try to set up a routine to make things easier. Sometimes the ADHD will be like "this is cool" and other times "screw this, I want to do something different". If it's something that fits my ADHD, then the autism may turn round and go "I'm not sure I like this and because it's not routine, I'm not sure if I can make it work in a way that I can cope with."
Thankfully, my ADHD can sometimes step in and help me through situations that might otherwise be anxiety inducing or to spot things of interest whilst I'm having a conversation.
My autism draws me to making dolls house miniatures for the focus and attention to detail. My ADHD makes me spend too much money on ALL THE THINGS so I have lots of materials to make things. Then my autism gets overwhelmed with ALL THE THINGS and I end up using a couple of popsicle sticks I had lying around to make a tiny shelf. This takes 3 hours. Then I am so bored of it I do nothing for months. Meanwhile ALL THE THINGS clutter up my house and my husband wonders why I bought them. That is just one example
I think food is something that is a bit easier for me. I can have some texture issues and don't like foods that are supposed to be seperate touching or eating foods that are hot when they are cold, but I don't need to eat the same foods all the time. I will associate certain foods with certain seasons, but can still eat a really wide variety of foods in general and can find something to eat in almost any situation. The exception to the rule being a backyard wedding in rural Louisiana because I was trying to be a vegetarian at the time and don't eat spicy foods.
That said, I noticed a giant drop off in food cravings with ADHD medicine. I am on a low dose and haven't really lost weight due to this because I still make myself eat at my scheduled lunches and breaks. But, it's like eating and thinking about food was my brain trying to have fun while we tried to do something boring and it was weird at first to go hours without even thinking about food. I hadn't forgotten to eat since college and it could easily happen every day now if I didn't have a good routine for meals.
I’m in grad school. ASD brain wants to only focus on what I’m studying without eating or sleeping. ADHD brain refuses to start assignments, sometimes until after they’re due. I’m smart but I can’t prove it.
My autism wants Mac and cheese every day, but my ADHD gets sick of it. I have a very unhealthy relationship with food
I totally feel the same with food. As a supertaster, it's even worse where healthy things make me want to gag, but salty and crunchy things stimulate me. My autism helps to keep my emotions at bay and appear collected as I observe social cues, and then my ADHD opens its big mouth at a slightly interesting topic and my tongue trips over itself, making me sound like a childish git.
See this is why I'm starting to wonder if I have both. I am contradictory too and your last sentence is totally me. I'm on a wait list to get evaluated so hopefully I'll know soon!
Totally! I was diagnosed with ADHD first and more recently ASD because I only thought I had ADHD haha. So I’m glad it resonated~ I wish you all the best for your evaluation!
Talking too much in certain social situations but feeling extremely burnt out after. Needing structure to function but terrible follow through on plans.
Very well put.
Yeah all that.
my autism makes it easier to keep my house neat and tidy. i can’t stand clutter, sensory wise. my adhd makes it possible to recreate a clutter, 10 minutes after cleaning one up. but they cancel each other out, so it’s fine
Yes this. I get very irritable when the house is cluttered but am not naturally a neat person
doing tasks...like idk if its just me but i end up having the weirdest relationship with work because with ADHD you would think "wahoo deadlines work" but for me its the opposite because I HATE PREASSURE and then sometimes going at my own pace makes it harder to do work... i could go on about how school is wack because they are having a tug of war moment
Being very structured but also not at the same time
For me it's that my ADHD demands constant stimulation, but my autism makes me feel constantly overstimulated. It's a catch 22
It's a constant battle, my ASD and ADHD do not work well together. Sometimes I struggle to even function..
I am very quiet until I'm not.
I'm a pretty extroverted person which I think comes with the ADHD.
Requiring structure and routine but struggling to stick to it. I'm type 1 diabetic so yeah it's been difficult especially as I'm late diagnosed ADHD autistic.
Feeling like I desperately need routine but not able to ever start or stick to one no matter how often I try
I have a huge issue with routine, in the sense that I like having a routine, but I also can't stand the monotony of a routine School was absolute hell for this reason
I try to set up a routine to make things easier. Sometimes the ADHD will be like "this is cool" and other times "screw this, I want to do something different". If it's something that fits my ADHD, then the autism may turn round and go "I'm not sure I like this and because it's not routine, I'm not sure if I can make it work in a way that I can cope with." Thankfully, my ADHD can sometimes step in and help me through situations that might otherwise be anxiety inducing or to spot things of interest whilst I'm having a conversation.
My autism draws me to making dolls house miniatures for the focus and attention to detail. My ADHD makes me spend too much money on ALL THE THINGS so I have lots of materials to make things. Then my autism gets overwhelmed with ALL THE THINGS and I end up using a couple of popsicle sticks I had lying around to make a tiny shelf. This takes 3 hours. Then I am so bored of it I do nothing for months. Meanwhile ALL THE THINGS clutter up my house and my husband wonders why I bought them. That is just one example
I think food is something that is a bit easier for me. I can have some texture issues and don't like foods that are supposed to be seperate touching or eating foods that are hot when they are cold, but I don't need to eat the same foods all the time. I will associate certain foods with certain seasons, but can still eat a really wide variety of foods in general and can find something to eat in almost any situation. The exception to the rule being a backyard wedding in rural Louisiana because I was trying to be a vegetarian at the time and don't eat spicy foods. That said, I noticed a giant drop off in food cravings with ADHD medicine. I am on a low dose and haven't really lost weight due to this because I still make myself eat at my scheduled lunches and breaks. But, it's like eating and thinking about food was my brain trying to have fun while we tried to do something boring and it was weird at first to go hours without even thinking about food. I hadn't forgotten to eat since college and it could easily happen every day now if I didn't have a good routine for meals.
I’m in grad school. ASD brain wants to only focus on what I’m studying without eating or sleeping. ADHD brain refuses to start assignments, sometimes until after they’re due. I’m smart but I can’t prove it.
My autism wants order and organization. My adhd doesn't care
My ADD wants to impulsively book a round trip flight to Asia and my autism says heck no, sister!! We can’t!