I have ADHD. That’s a certain. Officially diagnosed, on the process of finding medication and titration.
Although the doc I was meeting who was conducting the ADHD tests and a few followups, took account my traits and the answers to the ADHD questionnaire, which suggests AuDHD in their experience.
I read many AuDHD accounts and blogs online. Their story always lines up really well with mine.
I am of the opinion that the label does not matter in terms of practicality. A “what helps, helps” kind of motto. But I do feel a bit disingenuous when I say I am autistic to people since I didn’t get a second opinion or anything.
Any experiences and thoughts on this? Is there is any concrete benefits if I were to seek out an official Autism diagnosis aswell?
To me, personally, reading Unmasking Autism was a good starting point to understand why self-id is valid, and even desirable in certain circumstances.
That being said, the person assessing me for ADHD had similar suspicions about autism, too. When I brought this up with my therapist they agreed, but they told me to wait till I’ve tried my adhd meds, because depending on the medication, the autistic traits might exacerbate or be mitigated, and it would provide a more complete diagnostic landscape for you, than just doing it pre-treatment.
I personally thought it made a lot of sense, so I put the autism assessment on hold, and now I’m on the road to get meds as well, considering an autism assessment in the future (which tbh I don’t really need so if I don’t go through it, it won’t make me any less understanding of the ways I function, and the accommodations I need)