Checklist – AD(H)D and Autism Spectrum (AS)

This is a nicely-packaged list of common AD(H)D and Autism Spectrum (AS) characteristics as well as the similarities between the two.  Sometimes it’s hard to sort out all of the stuff going on upstairs, and this list is a GREAT place to start!

AS/Autism Spectrum

• Detail oriented-may miss the forest for the trees
• May be poor at multitasking
• Generally prefer sameness and routine
• Good at planning, may map out events far in advance-prefers to have conversations scripted out
• May not be able to pick up social cues
• May not understand tone of voice – may misunderstand sarcasm, not know when someone is lying, etc
• May not be able to read facial expressions
• May not be able understand body language
• May have difficulty remembering faces or names
• Prone to monologues and one-sided conversations
• May have alexythmia to varying degrees – may be unable to express certain feelings in words, may not be able to differentiate emotions
• May have difficulty with language processing- may take things literally, misunderstand figurative speech, etc
• Theory of mind impairments- may have difficulty realizing that others think or act differently than themselves
• Intense and singular interests that are relatively stable over a long period of time
• May be fascinated with parts of objects
• May start reading at an early age or have a “savant” skill
• Has trouble with small talk, likely will not see the point
• Honesty is extremely important- may tell the truth even at a disadvantage to self or others
• Emphasis placed on accuracy and information exchange in conversations
• May not respond to medication, but some do respond to low dose stimulants and anti-depressants

AD(H)D

• More general minded – may get hung up on details, but generally more focused on the big picture
• May enjoy multitasking. Some will find it overwhelming while others may excel at it
• Have difficulty with schedules and routines
• Generally poor at planning and time management, prone to procrastination
• Good at improvisation and doing tasks “on the fly”.  Scripts will likely be ignored.
• Can pick up social cues, but may miss them due to not paying attention
• Can understand tone of voice
• Can recognize facial expressions
• Can understand most body language
• May ramble, seemingly with no purpose
• Aware of emotions, but may find them difficult to regulate or manage
• Impulsive-possibly a compulsive buyer
• Impatient-may finish sentences for other people, have trouble waiting in line, etc
• Disorganized, may lose things on a regular basis
• May be chronically late, unable to show up on time
• Language processing generally OK, but may have difficulty with word retrieval, organizing thoughts into coherent sentences, etc.
• May have difficulty staying on topic, easily distracted
• Has theory of mind, though possibly underdeveloped
• May have intense all-encompassing interests, but those interests will likely change from day to day, week to week, month to month, etc.
• Generally very open to change, to the degree that they may appear to live in a state of chaos
• May have difficulty with activities that tax working memory, such as reading or keeping strings of information in mind
• Can do small talk, but may not enjoy it
• Honesty is important, but may tell white lies if the situation calls for it
• Symptoms are likely to respond to medication, usually stimulants (Adderall, Concerta, etc)
• Can exist without hyperactivity symptoms, though some combination of both are common – women frequently have more symptoms of inattention

Both/Similarities

• Likely neurological in origin and thought to have a genetic component-will often run in families
• Can co-exist in the same person
• Struggle with day-to-day living
• Can have trouble getting a job or maintaining a job
• May be introverted or extroverted, socially motivated or not
• May have difficulty with eye contact, AS side more so
• May have trouble socially- difficulty making or maintaining friendships or other relationships
• May struggle with social anxiety to varying degrees
• May have issues with hygiene and bodily maintenance
• Can hyperfocus to varying degrees, difficulty with perseveration- may have difficulty switching tasks or picking them up after an interruption
• May have been bullied at a young age, likely more severe in the case of autism
• Under-diagnosed in females as opposed to males (symptoms may present or be interpreted differently, males may be referred for diagnosis more often, etc)
• May be prone to sensory overload in intense environments.
• Medication may help with sensory issues for some people-the method of dealing with overload will vary, but will usually range from a combination of panic attacks to meltdowns and shutdowns. Severity will depend on the person. Meltdowns seem to be more common on the AS side.
• Struggle with insomnia or other related sleep disorders
• Common co-morbid conditions are anxiety, depression, and OCD.
• Can have dyslexia or dyscalculia
• Can have a variety of stims or stim-like behavior- restless behaviors such as leg tapping are common for ADHDers, while rocking behavior is more common on the autism side. Pacing seems to be common in both. Nervous habits and ones that involve self-injury like nail biting are also common.
• May struggle with decision making, but for different reasons
• May have proprioceptive dysfunction – may be clumsy, bump into things, etc
• May have moderate to severe GI or auto-immune disorders
• May be highly creative and imaginative

Source

Happiness Schmappiness

Why is the Art of Being Happy sometimes so elusive?  Don’t give me the ol’ “Being happy is an inside job” because I know that, I preach that…and on the inside I AM happy.  It’s the things going on around me in the world that yank me violently from that place of bliss.  Unfortunately, it’s my job to deal with those things in the healthiest way possible, and sometimes that’s tough.  Necessary, but tough.

I read an amazing book last year called, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, by Eric Weiner.   A ridiculous and cliché statement, but I found a lot of happy in that book.

“Using the ancient philosophers and the much more recent “science of happiness” as my guide, I travel the world in search of the happiest places and what we can learn from them.  As I make my way from Iceland (one of the world’s happiest countries) to Bhutan (where the king has made Gross National Happiness a national priority) to Moldova (not a happy place), I  calls upon the collective wisdom of “the self-help industrial complex” to help him navigate the path to contentment.

I travel to Switzerland, where I discovers the hidden virtues of boredom; to the tiny-and extremely wealthy-Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the relationship between money and happiness is laid bare; to India, where Westerners seek their bliss at the feet of gurus; to Thailand, where not thinking is a way of life; to a small town outside London where happiness experts attempt to “change the psychological climate.”  I am no dispassionate observer. In his quest for the world’s happiest places, he eats rotten Icelandic shark, smokes Moroccan hashish and intervenes to save (almost) an insect in distress.”

I’m going to have to bust that book out again.  I need a new perspective, and that’s OK…we all need a good tune-up every now and then.  My big-girl panties are around here somewhere, I just need to slap them on my butt, slap a smile on my face and KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON.  ~ST

A New Way to Find Happiness

Written by Anna Selner

For over a decade, a very serious group of researchers in psychology in the United States have been tackling a new question. Tired of dwelling on problems that conventional psychology explored for over a century and a half, that of trying to understand how to treat mental illness, they asked themselves, “Why not try to understand why people are happy?”

Thence positive psychology was born. Whilst it is commendable to relieve people of their psychological suffering, the fact of increasing life satisfaction is a promising area not only to increase happiness, but also to treat disease. But do not confuse “positive psychology” with “positive thinking”, the scope of the former being much larger and complex.

For example, positive psychology shows how we often rely on shortcuts to increase our well-being (pleasure, entertainment and excesses in various areas of our lives). This vision of happiness leads to too many people, even if they have great wealth, finding themselves spiritually empty and hungry.

Instead, positive psychologists say we ought to rely on our strengths and personal qualities to find happiness and delight, as positive emotions that deviate from authentic and moral attitudes inevitably lead to emptiness and depression.

Are you naturally happy? Do you have strategies of your own that offer positive psychology? Here’s a little test from the book Authentic Happiness, by Martin Seligman, one of the founders of this new science.

Happiness Forever?

Do we have real control over our sense of happiness? Can we grow this feeling and keep it over the years? Like the great thinkers of mankind, from Confucius to Aristotle, through to St. Thomas Aquinas, positive psychology has identified fundamental virtues which, when experienced frequently, feed and maintain happiness. These fundamental qualities, six in number, are: wisdom and knowledge, courage, love of humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality.

Here are 24 forces that research in positive psychology has identified help you stay happy!

1. Creativity

2. Curiosity

3. Open-mindedness and critical thinking

4. The pleasure of learning

5. Discernment

6. Authenticity and honesty

7. Valor

8. Perseverance

9. Optimism and enthusiasm

10. Love

11. Emotional Intelligence

12. Righteousness

13. Loyalty

14. Leadership

15. Compassion and forgiveness

16. Humility

17. Patience

18. Self-control

19. Enjoying beauty and excellence

20. Gratitude and appreciation

21. Hope

22. Humor

23. Faith and spirituality

24. Kindness

There are also other factors recognized by positive psychology. These are attitudes and ways of seeing the world that provide our daily well-being, if we take the time to appropriate them, that is.

Forgiveness

To forgive is to understand and situate the wrongdoing or pain of a situation in its proper context. Forgiveness is often difficult because it goes beyond the fact. It helps us accept blame and move on. It liberates and restores relationships, another great way to keep oneself happy.

Staying Optimistic

An optimistic person is one who is willing to believe in a favorable outcome when a situation does not suggest a sure result. Optimism helps attain a lot of happiness. It also helps us to be grateful for what we have, and it lets us entertain hope for the future.

Through positive psychology, we can reserve many good surprises for ourselves for years and years to come. It lets us develop a positive perspective towards happiness with total abandon.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology
• http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu