Is it ADHD or Aspergers?

[DoBetter]

Good Day

So at about the age of 6 my son was diagnosed with ADHD. Since then we have had him on various dosages of Concerta to assist him with his concentration especially at school. We have found that the medication does help with his concentration and does take the "edge" off of his explosive behaviour. We have though also seemed to note that the medication does appear to make him more aggressive

Recently we have begun to wonder if he is actually ADHD or perhaps Autistic (Aspergers). The reason for this thinking is partly due to the fact that my brother was diagnosed as Austic at a very young age (10 - he is know 33). My brother is on the outer spectrum of Autism and meeting him you wouldnt even know it, it is just his obssesive behaviours that give you a hint to his condition

So considering that my brother is Aspergers, and knowing more about Aspergers suspecting my father might have this too, would it not make sense to reason that my son is more Aspergers than ADHD

I have done some research and it is difficult to tell the two apart as they share many symptoms

What has made us question my sons diagnosis of late is his extreme levels of emotional distress/obsession

A few years ago he lost a balloon which flew awayand he was visually distressed by this for weeks and still talks about it to this day. Upset that it was gone. Then this past weekend we gave a loaf of bread to a homeless person and his emotional distress over this suprised me. He was not upset that we were helping someone in need but more so that this loaf of was gone and never going to come back. He actually made me get in the car to go find the homeless person to ask for it back ( We did drive but I intentionally went routes that we would not find the person). While in my mind my sons reasoning seemed irrational I did not disregard the stress it was causing him and I want to help him cope with this

I have read about Anxiety Disorder in children and am sure my son suffers from this so now am looking to assist him. I have also found that even when he is not on his medication he is still fairly find during the day but his level of energy and anxiety builds up during the day until night time when he is then out of control. I am considering find out if there is other medication to help with his anxiety and would really appreciate the thought of other members on this forum who may have been through similar experiences

Thank you

[Mamamichl]

Hello. Thank you for sharing. I work in education and have these conditions going through people I love as well, so I have been doing research and keeping up with current research. In the newest dsm (mental health handbook), Asperger’s was taken away and only autism (asd) has stayed. Adhd is now considered ADD only and has hyperactive or inattentive types. Since the last dsm, there has been some research that has been correlating ADD and ASD and could in fact be the same condition in varying degrees (not officially confirmed though). They both have genetic components as well. They can also be diagnosed at the same time for someone. So it is quite possible for your kid to have one or the other. Definitely talk to your doctor and get a neuropsych test done. Those two conditions are hard to decipher without being trained.

[randomscreenname in reply to Mamamichl]

I think you have the ADD/ADHD thing backward. ADD was supplanted by ADHD, not the other way around.

People previously diagnosed with Asperger's are now typically diagnosed with ASD, either "high functioning" or Level 1.

[Mamamichl in reply to randomscreenname]

Exactly. I’m glad I could help clarify. It’s actually quite interesting how mental health is changing over time and the things we are learning. My parents never got diagnosed and I’m sure they should have. They would have seen it as weakness. They won’t even acknowledge my mental conditions and how far I’ve come.

[randomscreenname]

Don't rule out the option that it is both. Over half of the people diagnosed with ASD also present with ADHD ("comorbidity" is 50-70%). My son and I both have ADHD and would be considered to have "Asperger's profiles" under the ASD diagnosis (what is now called "Level 1" ASD; used to also be called "high functioning," which was always a terrible term, though the intent was to convey that people with this diagnosis could function with fewer supports; the problem is that it led people to believe people with Level 1 ASD needed no supports).

[HereforOGC]

Hi there! My kiddo was diagnosed with ADHD at 6 and just recently (age 7) he was also diagnosed as having Asperger’s (ASD, high functioning). He’s now 8 and takes Vyvanse everyday. I had to smile at your balloon story as that exact thing happened for us as well. Nothing could be thrown out, nothing could be donated, even down to the smallest piece of rock or a stick that he connected with.

This inability to cope with loss really worried me and was a significant source of stress from age 4-7. It was only this year (age 8) that we are finally seeing some coping skills around letting things go. I wonder if it’s a bit of a late developmental stage.

Regardless of the cause I think it will pass and it is probably fairly “normal”. As for the ASD diagnosis, I’d say get them assessed. To repeat the previous comment, lots of folks have both conditions.

Good luck!

[STEM_Dad in reply to HereforOGC]

Very interesting. I have an 11 year old son who gets very attached to certain things, in the same way that you describe.

I thought it was just a personality trait, and maybe connected to the anxiety that he displays, or maybe OCD (which his mom regularly jokes the she must have, based on her own compulsive behavior).

I hadn't considered that he could have ASD, but he has other personality quirks that seem to be a bit odd.

[Knitting20projects]

I'm guessing his attachment to the objects is a manifestation of his inflexibility and difficulty with problem solving. It sounds like he has 1 plan, plan A, and if Plan A fails (eg "I lose my balloon"), then he is out of ideas for a Plan B and obsesses/ruminates or falls apart. This also makes me wonder about possible autism. I would consider getting him evaluated or at least discussing your concerns with whoever prescribes the ADHD medicine. ADHD is very common within autism (at least 40% of people with ASD have ADHD). I have 2 kids, both of whom have ASD and ADHD. I am chuckling at your post (with compassion, of course, not laughing at the difficult times you have) because I have been there, done that, with my kids in similar situations to the balloon and bread loaf many times. Not saying your child definitely has autism, just that I know the behavior quirks you're describing Best wishes to you and your child.