The sudden rise of AuDHD: When autism and ADHD coexist

More prevalent than ADHD and autism alone, AuDHD symptoms can vary widely. So what is it, and how can it be managed?

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Some might roll their eyes about yet another trending health label attached to a condition that is slippery to define. Yet new research suggests that more cases of AuDHD – a crossover of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) – are being diagnosed.
Between 50-70 per cent of people with autism have been reported as having both conditions, making it more prevalent than ADHD and autism alone.
AuDHD is not a medical term, but it’s being increasingly used as a shortcut to express what it’s like to be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD, and so have overlapping traits of both.
Research into the condition is still in its infancy, and the way it affects a person can vary widely between individuals – there is rarely a perfect 50/50 split between the two sets of symptoms.
Having AuDHD can feel like living with two different brains, it can push and pull people in two different directions. “It’s silence versus noise; structure versus chaos; repetition versus novelty; caution versus risk-taking,” explains Dr Khurram Sadiq, a consultant psychiatrist at the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, who has AuDHD himself and has written a book, Explaining AuDHD, to be published in 2025.
Whereas autism is associated with focus, rules and social challenges, ADHD brings impulsivity, inattention and hyperactivity (as shown in the diagram below), and so having both can feel contradictory and quite overwhelming.
Yet sometimes the two conditions can help and complement each other – for example, the ADHD traits can make a person with autism more sociable and the autistic traits can help the ADHD person concentrate and focus.
“The way I describe it is that autism can be like a parent to ADHD, as it does not let it become too anarchic or disorganised,” says Dr Sadiq. Whereas “ADHD is like a friend to autism and does not let it be too reclusive.”
Autism and ADHD are both neurodevelopmental disorders. They share some traits and have a strong genetic link, yet exactly how they’re connected is not yet clear.
Some researchers believe that they sit on a spectrum of neurodiversity in which different symptoms appear at different times; others believe that eventually, we will understand AuDHD as a separate diagnosis.
Dr Fleur-Michelle Coiffait is a consultant clinical psychologist with expertise in autism and ADHD. “The more I work in this area, and the more clients I see, the more I think AuDHD isn’t just one plus the other – it has unique challenges,” she says.
Several traits of both ASD and ADHD show up in AuDHD. Not everyone will have all of these symptoms, however. “In some people, the autism might be more prominent, in others the ADHD might be very strong,” says Dr Sadiq.
The traits of AuDHD include:
“Generally we find that people with ADHD get a lot from social interaction, but AuDHD people might find they have more autistic-style social challenges,” says Dr Coiffait. This might look like having no filter and blurting things out; craving social situations but finding it hard to understand others; or getting easily overwhelmed and tired, but finding it tough to slow down and recharge.
Some may struggle to focus on things that they’re not interested in, but may “hyperfocus” on some special interests or when driven by a deadline.
They may be over or under-responsive to sensory stimulation, such as noise, light, and touch, and may struggle with certain foods or strong smells.
“Impulsivity may be driven by the ADHD search for stimulation or the autistic frustration when things don’t happen at a specific time,” Dr Sadiq says. It can lead to relationship problems and addictive behaviours towards drugs, alcohol, food, gaming or gambling.
Fidgeting, stimming (repetitive movements or sounds that people use to cope with their emotions) and verbal tics can be a product of ADHD restlessness or an autistic attempt to soothe themselves.
Difficulties with emotional regulation may lead to emotional outbursts.“Often autism and ADHD are pulling them in two different directions, they’re navigating that within themselves and that can be very draining,” says Dr Coiffait. “They may spend a lot of time masking and behaving how they feel they should behave in situations, being a bit of a chameleon, which can impact your mental health.”
Living with undiagnosed AuDHD can lead to burnout, recurring stress-related health problems and anxiety.
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“I see patterns of overworking which can lead to difficulties in relationships, health problems and a high level of anxiety. Many of the adults I assess are successful, but that success has come at a cost,” says Dr Fleur-Michelle Coiffait.People with autism or ADHD or both are statistically more likely to suffer from mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. This is often as a result of the shame or lack of self-confidence from living with the condition.
“AuDHD and ADHD can be a higher burden than autism, because in autism you often choose not to socialise with people. “With AuDHD you tend to socialise a lot; with that comes a whole vicious cycle of lack of self-confidence and self-esteem,” says Dr Sadiq.
“It does appear to get easier as you get older, as adults find coping mechanisms, whether functional or dysfunctional. The amazing thing is that once you treat the AuDHD in most people the depression and anxiety improve.”
Getting a diagnosis on the NHS can be a lengthy process, as waiting lists for autism and ADHD assessments are long, and the two services are disjointed so often you need to see two specialists – a psychiatrist or a psychologist with a specialism in autism or ADHD, or, ideally, knowledge of both.AuDHD is also hard to diagnose and requires a lot of time with a patient to pick up symptoms.
“What we see is people have gone from pillar to post, been mismanaged and given multiple diagnoses. The good thing is that they’ve often done some research themselves and not everybody is doing TikTok research,” says Dr Sadiq. If you’ve decided to go private, then experts advise picking someone who has expertise in both autism and ADHD.
“I would encourage people to read about the condition, to go out and find information from neurodivergent people, and to seek out an assessment from someone who has ideally done training in both. As clinicians we should all be routinely assessing for both,” says Dr Coiffait.
Often people find that their ADHD diagnosis goes on to reveal symptoms of ASD.
Managing AuDHD involves treating both ADHD and ASD.
Experts say understanding yourself and appreciating your distinctive strengths and challenges is important so that you can put strategies in place, and an assessment can help identify those needs.
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“Neurodiverse people have different brains, they are innovators, they can deal with crises, they can bring about novel solutions to long-standing problems. Yet they are in a neurotypical world, so you have to create different strategies for yourself, and once you have the insights you can do that. Put them in the right environment and they will flourish,” says Dr Sadiq.
A healthy lifestyle is also important. Dr Coiffait says: “A healthy foundation of a good diet and enough sleep and exercise will help people feel settled and regulated. Find people who accept you as you are. We know from research that when people are masking and not being their authentic selves, that can lead to mental health challenges.”
There are several effective stimulant treatments for ADHD such as Ritalin and Elvanse. Finding the right dose and medication can take some trial and error, and some research indicates that stimulant medications can be less effective for AuDHD.
There is no medication to manage autism, but certain strategies can help, for example:
How common is AuDHD?
There is no data specifically on AuDHD, but research estimates that at least 50-70 per cent of people with autism and ADHD also have symptoms of the other.
New research shows that there are at least 1.2 million autistic people in the UK. ADHD UK estimates around 1.9 million people in the UK have ADHD, although, as so many are on long waitlists, the numbers could be far higher.
Is AuDHD a disability?
Legally, both ADHD and ASD can be considered disabilities, but only if there is a “substantial” and “long-term” negative effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
In practice, many people don’t consider it a disability and experts prefer to focus on its strengths, such as creativity and problem-solving.
“It can flip between a condition and a disorder,” says Dr Sadiq, “and the disorder only comes when it starts to impact them hard in different walks of life.”
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