Expert shares 5 'key differences' between autism and ADHD

An expert has shared five 'key differences' between autismand ADHD. He says that while some behaviourscross over, there are differences between the two conditions including how social interactions are dealt with.

Conor McDonagh is the owner and director of Caerus Therapies, which offers autism assessments and support. He is also a specialist occupational therapist, with sensory integration certification and expertise in occupational therapyand applied social studies.

Conor frequently shares advice on his TikTok account - from sensory processing issues, to how to support an autistic child. Among his videos, Conor shared a short video on the five key differences between autism and ADHD.

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In the clip, he said: "So the first of these relates to social interactions. So, people with autism will have difficulties with learning and acquiring the skills to interact appropriately with others.

"People with ADHD will also have difficulties with interacting with others at times, but they will initially have the skills to do this and to build rapport with others fairly quickly.

"Secondly, people with autism will have difficulties with using non verbal behaviour. So using facial expressions appropriately to determine and to let other people know how they're feeling or even using gestures. Typically, people with ADHD will have these skills and will use them appropriately."

Conor added: "Thirdly, there will be some differences in regards to how people make friendships or build relationships. So people with autism will typically struggle with these issues, or at the very least will be quite slow, to build relationships and friendships with other people.

"Whereas people with ADHD can often have appropriate skills and will do this fairly quickly. It may be that later down the line they will lose these friendships, due to difficulties with impulsivity, distractibility and, and difficulties with holding conversations."

He said: "Fourthly, people with autism, typically, are often have stereotyped behaviours or repetitive behaviours. So stereotyped means unusual. So this can relate to play, a speech that is very repetitive or unusual, and even motor movements so things like flapping or twirling repetitively.

"And finally, an area that often kind of catches people out relates to difficulties with intense interests. So intense interests in autism will typically last, you know, months and years. So there is longevity.

"They will have these interests for a long time, whereas people with ADHD can develop a very intense interest, but it typically lasts uh for a shorter duration. So this can be days or weeks. Often they will drop these and move on to something else. People with autism can drop intense interests, but they do often come back to these."

What is autism?

Autism means your brain works in a different way from other people, says the NHS. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older.

Autistic people may find it hard to communicate and interact with other people, find it hard to understand how other people think or feel, or find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable. They may also get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events, take longer to understand information, and do or think the same things over and over.

What is ADHD?

According to the NHS, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a condition where the brain works differently to most people. If you have ADHD, you may have trouble with things like concentrating and sitting still.

Symptoms of ADHD involve your ability to pay attention to things (being inattentive), having high energy levels (being hyperactive) and your ability to control your impulses (being impulsive).