People With AuDHD Can Feel Like A 'Living Contradiction' – Here's What It Looks Like

Those living with both autism and ADHD can spend years feeling “profoundly misunderstood”.

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

When people describe their experience of both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), they increasingly refer to a dual diagnosis known informally as “AuDHD”.

While it’s not an official diagnosis in itself, it’s a useful term people are increasingly using to describe the reality of living with these forms of neurodivergence, whose traits can often be at odds with one another.

There’s not a clear cut answer on how many people have AuDHD. But some research suggests 50 to 70% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also have ADHD, and a Healthwatch poll of 2,500 adults with suspected or diagnosed ADHD in England found 45% said they had autism as well.

Historically, the two were considered to be mutually exclusive – per The Guardian, up until 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) said a diagnosis of one ruled out the existence of the other.

But times are changing.

“The conversation around ‘AuDHD’ – the co-occurrence of autism and ADHD – is indeed gaining much-needed traction in the UK,” Dr Mukesh Kripalani, a consultant psychiatrist at The ADHD Centre, told HuffPost UK.

He’s right. People – including celebrities like presenter and podcast host Sam Thompson – are increasingly taking to social media to share their experiences of life with a dual diagnosis. The #AuDHD hashtag on Instagram has 440,000 posts, while the same hashtag on TikTok has over 670,000 posts.

The psychiatrist added: “As a consultant psychiatrist, I see many patients who have spent years feeling profoundly misunderstood because their presentation didn’t neatly fit into a single diagnostic box.”

What does AuDHD look like?

It looks like autism, which can be characterised by a strong preference for routine, predictability, and deep, stable interests; and it looks like ADHD, which introduces a need for novelty, stimulation, and spontaneity, alongside executive functioning challenges.

Jenny Lucas, founder of Audhdistically Me, has lived experience of both but was only diagnosed in her late thirties. “Having both [autism and........

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