AuDHD

— the co-occurrence of Autism and ADHD —

is becoming more widely recognised, yet still often misunderstood.

For many of us, the traits overlap, weave together, and sometimes even contradict each other, creating a profile that doesn’t fit the neat categories the diagnostic manuals were built on.

In recent years, more adults — especially women and those with subtler or “invisible” traits — have been identified with AuDHD after years of feeling missed, mislabelled, or told their struggles were “too inconsistent” to be real. Outdated diagnostic frameworks still separate Autism and ADHD, which means many people are forced through two separate assessments, if they are recognised at all. This contributes to long delays, misdiagnosis, and the sense of living life without a map.

What’s emerging in community conversations — and now slowly in research — is that AuDHD is not just “Autism + ADHD” as two separate boxes. It’s a unique presentation of neurodivergence that comes with its own rhythm, challenges, and strengths.

Spectrum of the Profile

AuDHD isn’t static. The way traits show up shifts depending on environment, energy, health, and stress levels. What looks like competence one day can collapse into exhaustion the next. This fluidity is often why AuDHD goes unnoticed or misinterpreted — the presentation is rarely consistent.

Processing

Information doesn’t always arrive at the same speed. Sometimes it feels like the brain is running too fast — words come out before they’re fully formed, or responses spill over in a rush. Other times, it feels like moving through treacle — hearing what’s said but struggling to produce a reply in time.

Impact: To others, this can look like “interrupting” in one moment and “not paying attention” in another. In reality, it’s the fluctuation of processing speed, not intent.

Cognition

Problem-solving can be dazzling — connecting ideas, spotting patterns, and generating creative solutions others miss. Hyperfocus can fuel deep dives into areas of interest. But at other times, focus splinters: tasks feel scattered, and attention jumps between thoughts like tabs on a screen.

Impact: The same person may deliver brilliance on a project but forget everyday admin. This inconsistency is often mistaken for laziness, when it’s a neurological rhythm.

Sensory Experience

The world often feels either too sharp or strangely muted. A faint background noise may feel unbearable one day, unnoticed the next. Lights, textures, smells, or tastes can overload or underwhelm depending on stress, hormones, or fatigue. Regulation often hinges on how predictable and safe the environment feels.

Impact: Sensory needs may look inconsistent, but they’re not about preference — they’re about survival. Without support, overload feeds directly into emotional shutdown or burnout.

Social Interaction

Sometimes socialising feels alive and energising — humour sharp, connection flowing. At other times, the same interaction feels draining, confusing, or impossible to sustain. Withdrawal isn’t disinterest but often a strategy to preserve energy. Social needs shift with environment, trust, and capacity.

Impact: This inconsistency can lead to misjudgement — seen as sociable one moment, withdrawn the next. In reality, it’s about regulation, not rejection.

Interoception

Internal signals — hunger, thirst, fatigue, emotional cues — can be hard to read. Sometimes the body feels like it’s screaming with sensations but without clear labels. At other times, signals are barely felt until they hit crisis point (sudden exhaustion, panic, or physical illness).

Impact: Misreading or missing internal cues often leads to skipped meals, poor sleep, emotional meltdowns, or unexplained health crises. To others, it can look like neglect or avoidance, when it’s really a different way of sensing.

Emotions

Feelings can be intense yet hard to name (alexithymia). Sometimes emotions are delayed, surfacing hours later; other times they erupt suddenly, overwhelming both the person and those around them. Emotional responses are often tied closely to sensory and cognitive states, creating chain reactions that are hard to control.

Impact: What looks like “overreacting” may be an uncontrollable flood of signals. What looks like “shutting down” may be the only way the nervous system can cope.

Motor & Physical Regulation

Movement differences can show up in coordination, balance, or rhythm. Stimming may help regulate but can be misunderstood as “fidgeting” or distraction. Energy levels also fluctuate — bursts of hyperactivity followed by physical fatigue.

Impact: In school or work, this might look like clumsiness, restlessness, or difficulty sitting still. But movement is often essential regulation, not misbehaviour.

Executive Functioning

Planning, organising, remembering — these skills rise and fall with energy, interest, and external demands. A high-interest project may be completed with unstoppable intensity, while basic daily tasks (emails, phone calls, tidying) feel like mountains.

Impact: Professionals may label this as disorganisation, but it’s a neurological mismatch between demand and capacity, not lack of willpower.

Hormonal Influence on Processing

Processing isn’t only shaped by environment and stress — hormones play a huge role too. Oestrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and even shifts linked to puberty or menopause can change the brain’s rhythm. At certain points, thoughts feel sharp and quick, while at others they feel foggy, heavy, or delayed. For many, these hormonal shifts explain why processing can feel unpredictable across the month, or change significantly at different life stages.

Impact: What looks like inconsistency in attention or response time may actually be the natural effect of hormonal changes on how the brain processes information.