Education and Tools for Parents Learning about Neurodivergence For Their Kids

Understanding the AuDHD Overlap & Energy Costs

Autism and ADHD often amplify, mask, or disguise each other’s traits, making it harder to identify one condition in the presence of the other. Key interactions include:

• Social Masking vs. Impulsivity – Autism can lead to extreme social masking (hiding differences to fit in), while ADHD can result in impulsive social behavior, making a person appear ‘high energy’ rather than socially anxious.

• Hyperfixation vs. Hyperactivity – Autistic hyperfocus on interests may look like ADHD hyperactivity, but the underlying reasons differ.

• Sensory Sensitivities vs. Sensory Seeking – Autism often involves hypersensitivity (avoiding stimuli), while ADHD can involve sensory-seeking behaviors (craving stimulation). These may conflict within the same person.

• Emotional Dysregulation – ADHD-related emotional impulsivity can make autistic shutdowns or meltdowns happen faster and more frequently.

• Executive Function Challenges – ADHD contributes to forgetfulness and task-switching difficulties, while autism contributes to rigid routines and difficulty shifting focus, sometimes making each issue worse.

Please also note: many people give an answer of “not struggling” because they have come up with ways to approach and manage the discomfort. For example, “knows how to strategically make eye contact,” or “has practiced it enough and is able to give direct eye contact when necessary” --- does not mean you don’t struggle with eye contact. Having a system for how you do it or having to ramp up for it probably means it was hard at some point; you just shoved that down and pushed through it. It’s hard to drop that ‘mask’ of “of course I CAN do that!” but the question is actually: “how much energy does it take from my system for me to be able to do that?”

Each trait below includes:

• Education on how Autism and ADHD affect the trait differently

• Rating the energy cost on both good and hard days (1-5 scale)

Category 1 : Social & Communication Patterns

1. Eye Contact & Social Engagement

🔹 Autism: Eye contact may feel unnatural, forced, or even painful, leading to avoidance or side-glancing. Masking eye contact requires high effort.

🔹 ADHD: Eye contact may be inconsistent due to distractibility, rather than discomfort. Sustained eye contact can be difficult because attention drifts.

Good Days:

Engages in typical eye contact

Prefers minimal/indirect eye contact (e.g., side-glancing)

Avoids eye contact completely, except in highly structured settings

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Engages in typical eye contact

Prefers minimal/indirect eye contact (e.g., side-glancing)

Avoids eye contact completely, except in highly structured settings

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

2. Conversational Regulation (Interruptions, tangents, volume control)

🔹 Autism: Conversations may feel scripted or overly rigid. Interruptions and topic shifts are rare unless discussing a special interest.

🔹 ADHD: Conversations can be impulsive, with frequent interruptions, changing topics mid-sentence, or talking too much without realizing.

Good Days:

Follows conversational norms (turn-taking, minimal interruptions)

Interrupts frequently, speaks out of turn, difficulty waiting

Goes off on unrelated tangents, struggles to return to topic

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Follows conversational norms (turn-taking, minimal interruptions)

Interrupts frequently, speaks out of turn, difficulty waiting

Goes off on unrelated tangents, struggles to return to topic

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

3. Social Interest & Reciprocity

🔹 Autism: Social interactions may feel draining or confusing. Engaging in small talk may require deliberate effort, while hyperfocus on special interests can dominate social time.

🔹 ADHD: Social interactions can be highly engaging, but attention may wane mid-conversation. Can appear enthusiastic but may struggle with consistency in social engagement.

Good Days:

Balances personal interests with interest in others

Deeply focused on own interests, struggles to inquire about others

Engages socially only when discussing hyperfixations

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Balances personal interests with interest in others

Deeply focused on own interests, struggles to inquire about others

Engages socially only when discussing hyperfixations

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

Category 2: Executive Function & Cognitive Regulation

4. Task Initiation & Follow-Through

🔹 Autism: May struggle to initiate tasks due to difficulty switching focus, even if they want to complete them.

🔹 ADHD: Struggles with task initiation due to low dopamine levels. Can start multiple tasks but struggle to finish them.

Good Days:

Initiates and completes tasks with ease

Procrastinates despite wanting to complete tasks

Starts multiple projects but struggles to finish them

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Initiates and completes tasks with ease

Procrastinates despite wanting to complete tasks

Starts multiple projects but struggles to finish them

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

Category 3: Sensory & Emotional Regulation

5. Sensory Processing & Regulation

🔹 Autism: Often hypersensitive to sensory input (e.g., sound, texture, light). Overwhelm leads to shutdowns.

🔹 ADHD: May crave sensory input (e.g., loud noises, fidgeting) to self-regulate but may also experience sensory overload.

Good Days:

Regulates sensory input effectively

Sensitive to some stimuli but can tolerate discomfort

Overwhelmed or highly avoidant of sensory input

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Regulates sensory input effectively

Sensitive to some stimuli but can tolerate discomfort

Overwhelmed or highly avoidant of sensory input

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

6. Emotional Regulation & Expression

🔹 Autism: Emotions may be delayed, leading to shutdowns. Difficulty expressing emotions conventionally.

🔹 ADHD: Emotions are immediate and intense, often leading to impulsive reactions.

Good Days:

Adjusts emotional responses appropriately

Overwhelmed by emotions but can self-regulate

Frequent emotional meltdowns or shutdowns

Energy cost on a good day (1-5): _____

Hard Days:

Adjusts emotional responses appropriately

Overwhelmed by emotions but can self-regulate

Frequent emotional meltdowns or shutdowns

Energy cost on a hard day (1-5): _____

This action feels: ( ) Comfortable naturally ( ) Takes deliberate effort

___

How to Interpret the Results

This AuDHD Mental Status Checklist (AuD-MSC) is not a diagnostic tool but can be useful for self-reflection, tracking patterns, and guiding discussions with professionals. Below is a breakdown of how to interpret your responses:

1. Pattern Recognition

Look at the options you selected for each category and assess where your responses cluster:

Social & Communication Patterns

• Autistic-leaning traits: More checkmarks in areas like preferring indirect eye contact, rigid conversation styles, struggling with small talk, or social interactions feeling draining.

• ADHD-leaning traits: More checkmarks in areas like inconsistent eye contact, interrupting frequently, switching topics impulsively, and high-energy social bursts followed by burnout.

• Both (AuDHD overlap): Mixed traits—switching between hyper-fixation in conversation and jumping between topics impulsively, or balancing social enthusiasm with sudden exhaustion.

Executive Function & Cognitive Regulation

• Autistic-leaning traits: More checkmarks in difficulty with transitions, rigid thinking, hyperfixation without flexibility, and struggling to start tasks due to overwhelm rather than distraction.

• ADHD-leaning traits: More checkmarks in struggling with focus, jumping between projects, impulsively starting tasks but not finishing them, or difficulty planning and prioritizing.

• Both (AuDHD overlap): Experiencing both hyperfixation and forgetfulness, difficulty starting tasks due to both lack of dopamine and a need for structured transitions.

Sensory & Emotional Regulation

• Autistic-leaning traits: More checkmarks in hypersensitivity to sound, texture, light, movement, and needing controlled environments to regulate emotions.

• ADHD-leaning traits: More checkmarks in sensory-seeking behaviors (e.g., loud music, constant movement, high-energy activities), emotional impulsivity, and needing external stimulation to focus.

• Both (AuDHD overlap): Mixed experiences—sometimes overstimulated and needing silence, other times craving stimulation but becoming overwhelmed when overstimulated too quickly.

2. Energy Cost Analysis

Look at your energy cost ratings (1-5) for good days vs. hard days across different areas.

• If scores are consistently high (4-5) on good and bad days, the trait is likely a significant challenge that requires ongoing effort to manage.

• If scores vary drastically between good and bad days, the trait may be highly situational, meaning certain supports, environments, or routines make a big difference in how manageable it feels.

• If energy cost is low (1-2) and remains stable, the trait may be a natural strength or an area where you’ve found effective coping strategies.

👉 Key Takeaway: If most areas take high energy even on good days, masking, burnout, or executive dysfunction may be affecting overall well-being. If effort is inconsistent across days, external factors (environment, stress, fatigue) may be playing a large role in symptom presentation.

3. “Comfortable Naturally” vs. “Takes Deliberate Effort”

Review the actions that feel natural vs. those requiring deliberate effort:

• If many traits require deliberate effort, masking is likely a large part of daily functioning. Masking long-term can lead to exhaustion and burnout.

• If only a few traits feel effortful, but those traits also have high energy costs, they may be the primary areas where support, accommodations, or new coping mechanisms could help.

👉 Key Takeaway: Needing effort doesn’t mean failure—it means something is requiring additional cognitive, sensory, or emotional energy to sustain. Understanding which areas are draining allows for better self-accommodation and pacing strategies.

4. Identifying Accommodations & Next Steps

Once patterns are recognized, consider:

• What situations reduce energy cost? (E.g., working from home, noise-canceling headphones, using visual schedules)

• What routines or strategies reduce masking? (E.g., using scripts for social interactions, fidget tools for sensory regulation, or setting timers for executive function support)

• What external supports might be helpful? (E.g., therapy, workplace/school accommodations, changing environmental factors)

👉 If symptoms significantly impact daily life, consider bringing this self-assessment to a neurodivergent-affirming professional to discuss potential diagnostic evaluations, support plans, or lifestyle adjustments.

Final Thoughts

This screener is designed to help identify patterns and increase self-awareness. Whether you relate more to Autism, ADHD, or both, the goal is to find strategies that reduce burnout, increase ease, and support long-term well-being.

💡 Reminder: You are not alone in this—understanding your brain🌈 is the first step toward making choices that work for you rather than against you.