The familiar territory shared by Aspergers and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is one of the most commonexamples that highlights the fact that the world of psychiatry would be far less complicated if all the psychiatric classifications fell perfectly under one distinct category, without much overlap. In cases such as that of Aspergers and ADHD, it is quite common for a patient to be diagnosed with one disaease, only later to be told that they actually suffer from the other. Not only can this be perplexing but it can have a huge impact on the treatment of the disease, as the less certain one is about which disorder one suffers from, the less likely will one be able to take the right approach to deal with it effectively.
Hence if you are confused between Aspergers and ADHD, the following paragraphs will be quite helpful, as they will highlight the differences and similarities of Aspergers and ADHD.
Aspergers and ADHD – Similarities
When it comes to the symptoms of Aspergers and ADHD, it is actually extremely similar. As a mater of fact a study carried out has shown that amongst 30 plus children who had aspergers syndrome, more than 90% of them were incorrectly diagnsoed with ADHD being the common misdiagnosis. Hence a misdiagnosis of Aspergers and ADHD is made frequently.
The similarities of Aspergers and ADHD are as follows:
- Both have problems in building social relationships and communicating properly. Failure to understand social norms, lacking eye contact, interrupting others etc are common symptoms of both Aspergers and ADHD.
- Being easily disturbed and often suffering from anxiety and depression is also common to both the disorders.
- Extreme behaviors such as hyperactivity and lethargic behaviors are frequently seen in both Aspergers and ADHD.
- Lacking motor skills and struggling with co-ordination is frequent in both disorders.
- Patients diagnosed with both Aspergers and ADHD are often found to have high intelligenmce scores.
- Both are difficult to diagnose when at a young age, and both are said to occur 4 times more often in malesthan in women.
Aspergers and ADHD – Differences
There is little doubt that there are a number of similarities between Aspergers and ADHD; however there are quite a few distinctionsalso, which particularly become much more apparent as the patient advances in age.
- A person with ADHD is frequently cannot do any activity quietly, and hence often indulge in disruptive behaviors by often interrupting others. However those with aspergers find it difficult to make themselves understood verbally.
- Another difference is that those with ADHD usually make mistakes as they are unable to pay attention to detail, but those with Aspergers are in fact excessively focused on one particular activity, that they forget about everything else around them.
- Also, those with ADHD cannot stop troublesomebehavior, even though they recognize it as being unacceptable. On the other hand, those with aspergers are usually seen to indulge in repetitive behavior.
It has been scientifically proven that the major reason for the similarities between Aspergers and ADHD is that the same area of the brain is affected. However at the same time the root causes of both, Aspergers and ADHD, certainly vary and hence are treated differently.
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