Perhaps it was more ADHD, and Less of an Out of Date Syndrome

How could a person learn the meaning of social cues, emotional responses, or body language if they can’t focus enough to notice them in early childhood?

I would like to propose that symptoms that identify Autism are the side effect of ADHD, by those who can’t respond to the challenges of the condition or developed the condition at an early stage in life, prior to natural development of social skills.

I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, which is an out of date term that described high functioning autism. It was not a nice term as it had social consequences when related to others because of the way it sounded.

However, I recently reflected on myself and realized that two of my symptoms can be better described as ADHD. There are two types of ADHD, and some people are lucky enough to have both. Go figure, I was lucky enough to have both. Both inattentive and impulsive.

So how does ADHD relate to autism. Think about the following perspective.

Hypothetically, imagine if you suddenly lost the ability to focus to such a severe extent that;

• You could not notice in real time facial expressions, emotional responses, or other social cues.
• You could no longer follow conversations either one on one or in group conversations.
• You could not easily or naturally participate in group activities.
• Your ability to remember the things that you see or hear is severely reduced.

How long could you survive in that environment before developing mental health issues?

This is the situation of a persons with severe ADHD. Those with such a sever condition from a very early age, do not have the opportunity to grow up and develop like everyone else. For them, such drastic limitations set the lenses for their development from birth to adulthood or treatment with medication. However, it may be hard for those without the condition to understand the experience and the tools that can be used to overcome these challenges.

Thus, I suspect that autistic traits develop from one’s ability to cope with the challenges of having severe ADHD.

Examples

• Repetitive Behaviour: If one can’t focus enough to express their ideas (verbally or in writing), they lack a venue for advancing it to completion, leading to repetitively thinking about the idea.
• Anti-Social Behaviour: If one can’t focus enough to participate in social interactions, it would be natural to develop anti social behaviours from repeated social failure.

Therefore, helping people with ADHD to cope with their challenges and preventing situations that could negatively impact their ability to cope, could help reduce the occurrence of autism.

I have developed this point of view as a person diagnosed with Autism. In 2010, I began learning social skills while at University. However, without the ability to focus it was difficult to apply the knowledge practically.

Challenges include;

1. A lag between observing a social cue, understanding what it meant, and responding. Often this lag was socially inappropriate.
2. A disconnect between understanding the social context and the subconscious response. This is the difference between laughing at a joke and knowing a joke is funny while keeping a blank face. This results in people not being able to identify if their message was construed properly and or misreading the person in general.

It wasn’t until 2014, when I started treatment for ADHD, that I made the connection with my autism. In 2015, I realized that writing down the things that where recurring in my mind reduced the repetitive thought process. In 2017, I came to my conclusion on why some persons with ADHD have autistic tendencies.

I do not have the intention to pursue a career in medicine. Therefore, I hope this work will help guide research on the issue in a positive direction. I am available to answer further questions.

Best Regards,
Steven Hanssen