AuDHD: when autism and ADHD meet

Start here

After this chapter you will know what this guide is, and what it is not.

This guide is for people who are autistic and also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many of them use the word AuDHD (autism and ADHD together).

Where do you want to start?

• I have both Start with needs that pull both ways.
• I have one, and I think I have the other Start with why one can hide the other.
• I support someone with AuDHD Start with what AuDHD is.

AuDHD is a word from the community. It is not a separate diagnosis. Doctors see autism and ADHD as two things. A person can have both. The National Autistic Society says this is quite common. It says people sometimes call it AuDHD.

This guide does not repeat our other guides. For ADHD on its own, read ADHD, by people with ADHD. For autism on its own, read Autism, explained. For what all kinds of minds that work differently share, read Neurodiversity, explained. This guide is about what changes when the two meet.

A word on the research. Most studies look at autism or ADHD on its own. Until 2013, the main rule book did not let doctors give both. So research on the two together is new, and there is not much of it. Most of it is about children. In this guide we say what studies show. When something comes from what people say, and not from a study, we tell you.

For the medical facts, read the NHS pages on autism (opens in a new tab) and ADHD (opens in a new tab). This guide is general information. It is not medical advice. For diagnosis, medicine or your health, talk to a health worker.

What strengths can come with AuDHD?

After this chapter you will know what research says about strengths, and what it does not say yet.

From researchCreative work. A UK study looked at 352 adults. Autistic adults said they did more creative things in daily life, such as art, writing or new ideas at work. But this was explained by ADHD. The autistic adults who also had ADHD were the ones who did more creative things (Taylor and others, 2025). The study did not find a difference on a test of new ideas.

Here is what we can say. Each condition brings its own strengths. Our ADHD guide covers the strengths that often come with ADHD. Our autism guide covers the strengths that often come with autism. If you have both, strengths from either one can be yours.

People reportThere is one thing people with both have said. Adults told Healthwatch England that their autism and ADHD traits sometimes cancel each other out. That can help on some days. It can also hide what you need, which is why the second diagnosis is often missed. Chapter 05 is about this.

If you cannot see your strengths right now, that is not a failure. Being worn out can hide them. Chapter 07 is about energy.

Why did I only get one diagnosis?

After this chapter you will know why one condition often hides the other, and what to do if you think you have both.

Does this sound like you?

• Some answers, not allYou got one diagnosis. It explained a lot, but not all of it.
• Advice that stopped workingThe advice for it helped a bit. Then it stopped helping.
• A part with no nameYou still feel there is a part of you that no one has named.

What's happening

• From researchThe old rules. Until 2013, doctors were not allowed to diagnose ADHD in an autistic person. Many adults today were assessed under those rules.
• From researchADHD is often seen first. In a US study, children whose ADHD was diagnosed first got their autism diagnosis about 3 years later than other autistic children (Miodovnik and others, 2015). A Dutch study found a gap of 1.8 years on average. For girls the gap was 2.6 years, and for boys 1.5 years (Kentrou and others, 2018).
• From researchLoud signs hide quiet ones. The Dutch researchers think ADHD signs can hide autism signs. Moving a lot or being loud is easy to see. Autism signs can be quieter, so people may stop looking.
• People reportTraits can cancel out. Adults with both told Healthwatch England that their traits sometimes cancelled each other out. That can make each condition look milder than it is.
• People reportTwo separate routes. People told Healthwatch England that the NHS in England checks autism and ADHD on two separate routes. One person told Healthwatch they were asked to pick one diagnosis, because they could not be given both. That is not the rule. Doctors can diagnose both.

What helps

Idea to tryPractical ideas. Research has not tested them for AuDHD.

Tick the ones you want to try. Your ticks stay on this device only.

• Tell the assessor about both. Before the appointment, write down the signs of each that you notice. Bring the list with you.
• Ask what the service can assess. Ask if it can look at both conditions, or refer you for the other one.
• Know that one does not rule out the other. A diagnosis of one condition does not mean you cannot have the second.

For how diagnosis works for each condition, read Getting a diagnosis in the hub.

Why am I so tired all the time?

After this chapter you will know what research says about burnout, what it does not say yet, and how to plan your energy.

Does this sound like you?

• Fine, then a crashYou are fine for weeks. Then you crash.
• Everything is too muchSmall tasks feel huge. Noise and people are too much.
• Skills slipThings you could do before, you cannot do now.

What's happening

• Autistic burnout is real. It is more than being tired. Our neurodiversity guide explains what autistic burnout is.
• From researchADHD traits add to the load. A study of 724 autistic adults found that those with more ADHD traits said they were less able to manage daily tasks on their own. They also rated their quality of life lower (Yerys and others, 2022). This shows a link. It does not show that one causes the other.
• Hiding your traits takes energy. Hiding traits to fit in is called masking. The hub explains masking.
• Not yet studiedThe gap in the research. We did not find a study that measures burnout in people with both conditions. So we cannot tell you if it is more common, or different.

What helps

Idea to tryPractical ideas. Research has not tested them for AuDHD.

Tick the ones you want to try. Your ticks stay on this device only.

• Count energy, not only time. Notice what drains you and what fills you up. A free hour is not always a rest.
• Rest before you need it. Put rest in your plan, the same way you put in work.
• Watch for early signs. Look out for more tiredness, noise that feels harder to cope with and skills that slip. These are signs to slow down.
• Cut what you ask of yourself. Rest helps more when there is also less to do. Ask for help with the tasks that drain you most.
• Talk to someone. If you feel low or worn out for a long time, talk to your GP.

Getting a diagnosis

The short version for AuDHD. The hub has the full picture.

There is no single test for AuDHD. You need two: one for autism and one for ADHD. Healthwatch England says the NHS in England checks the two on separate routes. So you may wait twice, at different times. Ask your GP if your local service can look at both. Some NHS areas have one adult service that does. In England, if your GP refers you, Right to Choose lets you choose who does each assessment. If you already have one, tell the people who check you for the other. Chapter 05 says why one often hides the other.

For children, NICE says an earlier ADHD diagnosis should not stop or delay a referral for an autism assessment. A child can be assessed for both at the same time.

For who checks each one and how the NHS route works, read Getting a diagnosis in the hub.

Sources and about this guide

Who wrote this, what it is based on and when it was last checked.

The team at Humble wrote this guide from the published sources below. It is a draft. Someone with AuDHD will review it before it goes live. There are no quotes from people in this guide. Where we report what people with both have said, it comes from the Healthwatch England research listed here.

• NHS — Autism (opens in a new tab) and NHS — ADHD (opens in a new tab) — the signs of each condition
• National Autistic Society — Related conditions (opens in a new tab) — ADHD is common in autistic people and is sometimes called AuDHD
• Healthwatch England (2025) — The impact of having ADHD and autism (opens in a new tab) — poll of 2,579 adults, reports of traits that clash or cancel out, and separate NHS routes for assessment
• NICE guideline CG128 — Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis (opens in a new tab) — an ADHD diagnosis should not delay an autism referral; a child can be assessed for both at once (2017 update)
• Lai and others (2019), The Lancet Psychiatry — Prevalence of co-occurring mental health diagnoses in the autism population (opens in a new tab)
• Hollingdale and others (2020), Psychological Medicine — Autistic spectrum disorder symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD (opens in a new tab)
• The Transmitter (Spectrum) — New rules allow joint diagnosis of autism, attention deficit (opens in a new tab) — the DSM-5 change in 2013
• Ghirardi and others (2018), Psychological Medicine — Genetic and environmental contribution to the overlap between ADHD and ASD trait dimensions in young adults: a twin study (opens in a new tab)
• Waldren and others (2024), Cortex — Unpacking the overlap between autism and ADHD in adults (opens in a new tab)
• Miodovnik and others (2015), Pediatrics — Timing of the diagnosis of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (opens in a new tab)
• Kentrou and others (2018), Autism — Delayed autism spectrum disorder recognition in children and adolescents previously diagnosed with ADHD (opens in a new tab)
• Yerys and others (2022), Autism — Co-occurring ADHD symptoms in autistic adults are associated with less independence in daily living activities and lower subjective quality of life (opens in a new tab)
• Taylor and others (2025), Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science — Enhanced creativity in autism is due to co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (opens in a new tab)
• Antshel and Russo (2019), Current Psychiatry Reports — Autism spectrum disorders and ADHD: overlapping phenomenology, diagnostic issues, and treatment considerations (opens in a new tab)
• Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust — Adult Neurodevelopmental Service (opens in a new tab) — an example of one NHS adult service for both autism and ADHD
• NHS South West London — ADHD and autism Right to Choose (opens in a new tab) — Right to Choose covers autism and ADHD assessments in England

Last reviewed: October 2026. Draft, awaiting review by someone with AuDHD.

This guide is general information. It is not medical advice. For diagnosis, medicine or your health, talk to a health worker.

Did you find a mistake? Is something missing that you wish we covered? Email us. We read them all.