ADHD and Autism Are Different, but on Social Media Those Differences Are Shrinking
By Jemima Kang, Dr Mike Conway and Professor Nick Haslam of The University of Melbourne – First Published in Pursuit
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism are in the news as never before. Media attention is at an all-time high, demand for diagnostic assessments has risen substantially, and clinical services are experiencing unprecedented pressure.
What’s behind the rise in these two conditions?
One possibility is that rates of ADHD and autism are genuinely rising. Another is that growing awareness has led more people to recognise them in themselves and their loved ones.
Another major factor is changes to diagnostic criteria.
The latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) extended the diagnosis of ADHD from children to adolescents and adults and combined several previously distinct disorders into the umbrella diagnosis of ‘autism spectrum disorder’.
In a particularly important change, the DSM-5 allowed ADHD and autism to be diagnosed together. Previously, the two conditions were considered mutually exclusive.
This update raised awareness of their overlap and made dual diagnosis not just possible but common.
In parallel with these changes, there has been a shift in how the two conditions are understood by many people, inspired by the neurodiversity movement.
Neurodiversity promotes the idea that conditions such as these are natural variations in the brain rather than deficits that need to be corrected.
Neurodiversity advocates have drawn attention to co-occurring ADHD and autism and coined the term ‘AuDHD’ to describe the unique experiences and challenges of having both.
Neurodivergent communities have also proposed new features of these conditions, such as ‘rejection sensitivity dysphoria’, that are not captured by official diagnostic criteria.
These developments have potential benefits as well as risks.
They may foster greater self-understanding and validation for those whose experiences may have felt previously overlooked. However, if diagnostic categories become conflated or expand their meanings, people may misidentify their problems and pursue unnecessary or ineffective treatments.
The Convergence of ADHD and Autism
In our new study, we explored whether and how ADHD and autism have become more closely connected in our culture, and why this convergence may be occurring.
We used computational techniques to analyse more than 478,000 posts from the largest ADHD- and autism-related communities or ‘subreddits’ on the social media platform Reddit, spanning a period of ten years.
We looked for evidence that the two conditions were converging in four ways:
Cross-referencing between communities – We tracked changes in the frequency with which the term ADHD appeared in autism community posts and vice versa. As expected, each community increasingly referred to the other condition over the decade.
Shared membership – The number of people belonging to both communities increased, indicating a growing overlap in audience.
Semantic similarity – Using natural language processing, we examined how the meaning of ‘autism’ and ‘ADHD’ changed over time. We found that the two terms were increasingly used in similar semantic contexts, suggesting convergence in how they are understood.
Shared themes – We found the topics discussed in both communities began to overlap. These include challenges with diagnosis, understanding these as lifelong conditions, and their social and emotional dimensions.
Taken together, our findings show that autism and ADHD have converged in social media discourse. This reflects a broader cultural shift toward viewing them as interconnected and overlapping conditions.
Broader Implications
Our findings contribute to a wider conversation about how rising public interest in mental health is changing the way we use and understand diagnostic language.
Previous research has shown that concepts such as ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, ‘trauma’, ‘mental health’, and ‘mental illness’ have broadened in meaning as cultural awareness has grown. These terms now refer to a wider range of experiences and phenomena than they once did.
Our work is the first to show, using computational methods, that the relationships among diagnostic categories — such as their similarity or overlap — are also shifting.
As these concepts continue to evolve on social media, it’s important to consider the impacts.
The growing perception of an overlap between ADHD and autism may help some people better understand their experiences and feel part of a supportive community.
However, it may also lead to confusion, misdiagnosis, and increased pressure on already stretched clinical services.
With public interest in mental health continuing to rise, understanding these changes is increasingly important for practitioners, researchers, and society at large.
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