Good afternoon for all my friends readers.

There are two neurodevelopmental conditions that have behavioral patterns, in some cases, very similar, or borders: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In this opportunity we will indicate the behaviors that are related to the attentional processes of both neurodevelopmental conditions.

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When the child is of school age, the behavioral manifestations that are related to restlessness, inattention and evasion are believed to be sufficient to issue a diagnosis of ADHD.

Today I want to make it clear that the basis of inattention in the TEA and ADHD are not the same, nor do they have a relationship even if they were conceived as comorbid.

1-Sensory alterations: I can not be here.

There is an overload in the senses and concentration becomes very difficult, especially if the activity requires sustained mental effort, is long or has a high level of complexity.

In classrooms there is noise, heat or cold, light, smells and the senses of people with autism vary from hyposensitivity to hypersensitivity, and may even have many variations in a single day, so the natural reaction is of concern, deconcentration and distraction.

If the sensory component of the TEA is ignored, the person will surely go through an ADHD.

2-Difficult to understand the language: can not remember what you said, I can not understand you.

Cognitive skills that have to do with executive functions, such as working memory, auditory attention and sequence tracking, for example, are compromised, so there will be a difficulty in processing the language or a slower understanding of the same.

There are difficulties to perform simultaneous actions such as listening and attending, listening and watching, attending and watching. Activities such as dictation where you have to listen and write at the same time, are extremely difficult to perform.

That is why this population needs instructions and orders to be provided one at a time, in parts.

For this reason the activities that generate overload related to the language, will be evaded, typical characteristic in ADHD.

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3-Hyperfocalization: hyperconcentration in a single stimulus or activity.

Utah Frith's central coherence theory warns us about the difficulty children with autism have in integrating information into a coherent whole. Often they are "stuck" _ in details irrelevant to the activity they perform.

When there is also cognitive inflexibility and perfectionism, it is very difficult to generalize. An activity will be chosen and carried out with the greatest possible concentration excluding everything else. He is not distracted, he is hyperfocused.

It is different in ADHD, where the child goes from one activity to another without focusing and in most cases without finishing any.

4-I have anxiety: if I do not have calm I can not hear you.

In autism, anxiety is the emotion that is most common. Schools and classrooms are full of very imprecise and unanticipated dynamics, so it is unlikely that a stable day routine or structure will be maintained.

Anxiety rises in periods of evaluations, conferences, cultural activities, celebrations, where it is necessary to disconnect from planning. This situation places the child in a state of tension where it is difficult to focus attention and balance their actions to stay in an activity.

Usually the child with ADHD does not depend so much on a routine and the levels of anxiety do not prevent him in his totality from facing a task.

References.

I have heard that autism and ADHD are related. Is that true?

Differences between ADHD and autism

ADHD as Comorbidity in Autism and Asperger Syndrome

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So far this Part I, I hope it has helped you. See you at the next opportunity.