Mum shares three subtle signs she’s noticed in her ADHD child that she thinks may actually be autism

A mum whose son is diagnosed with ADHD believes he may also be autistic due to these three subtle signs.

There is a lot more awareness about neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder in recent times, largely due to how connected we are online and being able to access advice and information from anywhere, anytime.

For a lot of people, they struggled through life and didn’t understand why they felt so different from their peers, only to be later diagnosed with either ADHD or autism later in life.

While both conditions present with varying signs, there are overlapping things that can be attributed to either one.

If you didn’t know, ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which can also occur as ADD, without the hyperactivity.

Autism is a term used which encapsulates a group of symptoms which can range from social and communications problems, development delays, speech delays or non-verbal communication, and more.

A woman wondered if her son is autistic (Getty Stock)

It is also a spectrum, which means that although all people who are autistic will struggle with the same categories, it can impact each individual wildly different.

However, occurring diagnoses happen too.

A person who is autistic, may also have ADHD, and other conditions.

But due to overlapping signs for both conditions, it can be hard to know whether or not this is true for the individual.

One mum on Reddit believes she sees three signs that her six-year-old son is autistic, and is now asking others for advice.

She wrote on the post: “He is diagnosed with ADHD and is currently medicated for that. It has helped wonders with his emotional regulation and other ADHD behaviors.

“However, I have always wondered if he also has autism.”

She said he has some behaviours that make her question whether it is ‘ADHD, or is this autism’.

For her, the three signs are as follows:

1. He will make eye contact but he doesn’t maintain it. It will last for a few seconds and then he will look elsewhere.
2. He will randomly clap as he’s doing things. Sometimes this clapping is quick and other times it goes on for longer than 10 seconds. He doesn’t realize he is doing it.
3. He will randomly attach himself to random words people say and repeat them. A person walking by shouted “hey stupid are you coming” and then he shouted “hey stupid” back.

Parents rushed to give the mum advice, sharing their own experiences of their child on the spectrum and what signs they display.

Although he has ADHD, she wondered if symptoms were overlapping or separate conditions (Getty Stock)

One person said: “My son never hand flapped or lined things up. His signs were no pretend play, restricted and repetitive behaviour (playing with excavators only and in the same way each time) and difficulty making friends.

"He also had echolalia which is repeating sentences he heard either off TV or in school. Like your son he could make eye contact but not maintain it. Fine motor delay too.”

Another suggested seeking professional advice to have her son evaluated, telling the mum: “If your child already has a ADHD dx, find an evaluator who knows how to Dx ASD when it's co-occuring with ADHD, bc of symptom overlap.

“Be wary of short evaluations, and seek a provider who will do a comprehensive eval.”

Someone else told her their ‘subtle sign was a lack of social play’ as their son would be ‘content on his own for hours while other kids would play alongside him with each other’.

Why has autism been underdiagnosed in women and girls?

According to the National Autistic Society, ‘society’s understanding of autism has been limited to outdated stereotypes and incorrect assumptions’.

This means that some doctors and other healthcare professions may lack knowledge about how autism may present differently and struggle to diagnose.

“Some of the core characteristics of autism are having ‘repetitive behaviours’ and highly-focused interests,” the National Autistic Society explains.

When it comes to diagnosing girls, that can be particularly hard to diagnose due to the differences in presentation.

“Stereotyped examples of these include rocking backwards and forwards, and a fascination with trains. However, in autistic women and girls these behaviours and interests may be similar to those of non-autistic women and girls, such as twirling hair and reading books, and as such may go unnoticed despite the greater intensity or focus typical for autistic people.”