ADHD AND CO-OCCURING CONDITIONS
ADHD often exists alongside other conditions, known as co-occurring or comorbid conditions such as:
Neurodevelopmental conditions
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Tourette’s syndrome
Learning differences
dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia
Sensory processing challenges
Generalised anxiety disorders and clinical depression
Sometimes the symptoms of these conditions can overlap, making it harder to get a clear diagnosis especially if the focus is only on one set of traits.
Symptoms such as anxiety and depression may be secondary to ADHD rather than a co-morbid condition that needs to be treated in its own right. Secondary symptoms will usually improve with the treatment of ADHD.
Recognising co-occurring conditions is important, because they can affect how ADHD shows up and what kind of support is most helpful.