this post was submitted on 29 May 2026
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Autism
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In my experience, ADHD is responsible for masking ASD behaviors. Am I making enough eye contact? Too much information, need to look away. Am I engaging my face enough? Are my expressions in line with the information I'm hearing?
As I understood that my abnormal behaviors were likely a result of ASD, my need to mask became less of a priority also making the ASD more noticeable. I don't really look at faces when I talk anymore unless I really know the person, but it makes me able to actively engage. Agreed, not disappearing but ADHD is less relevant now than the ASD. We will never be normal, but we can mitigate the symptoms enough to engage to a satisfactory degree.
When i was younger it was. ADHD was diagnosed pretty much instantly, 2 sessions, but my mother didn't believe or like it and nothing came from it and ASD stayed hidden for decades. ASD was diagnosed in my late 20s and this time that was diagnosed within a handful of sessions, i brought old ADHD diagnosis and old documents up myself later.
The combo of both kinda protected me from the worst social consequences and made me completely oblivious to those. The facial expressions and eye contact and many other human to human interaction related things came much later, basically in my adulthood. ASD hit my social and emotional aspects with a sledgehammer.