AuDHD: Psychotherapist explains how conflicting traits of ADHD and autism can co-exist, leading to confusion and burnout

• Expert reveals signs to raise awareness during Neurodiversity Celebration Week
• Recognising AuDHD can be an important step towards feeling understood and reassured, says Priory’s Adele Burdon-Bailey
• AuDHD “can leave you feeling like you’re engaged in a cycle of pushing through, crashing, recovering and repeating,” she says

A leading psychotherapist at Priory has shared the key signs of ‘AuDHD’ to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week (16-22 March 2026).

AuDHD is a term people use to describe the experience of having the traits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism at the same time.

ADHD and autism can co-exist in children and adults, creating overlapping and sometimes contradictory patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. 

Adele Burdon Bailey, Psychotherapist at Priory, said: “Many people relate to both autism and ADHD traits, but feel they don’t fully fit one description or the other. AuDHD is a term people use to describe this experience.”

The term AuDHD allows people to explain patterns that can otherwise feel confusing or hard to articulate, especially when autism or ADHD on their own don’t fully capture how someone thinks, feels and functions, says Burdon-Bailey.

“For lots of people, recognising these patterns is the first step towards feeling understood and reassured that there’s an explanation for what they’re experiencing,” she said: “Autism and ADHD both relate to how the brain processes the world. There’s a natural overlap between the two, including how people experience attention, emotions, sensory input and everyday organisation. When these traits come together in one person, the result can be a unique profile that feels different from autism or ADHD alone.”

One of the most commonly described signs of AuDHD is burnout, says Burdon-Bailey, a specialist in cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) who supports patients at Priory Wellbeing Centre Manchester.

“Managing these competing needs, often while masking or trying to meet external demands, can lead to mental and physical exhaustion. It can feel like you’re engaged in a cycle of pushing through, crashing, recovering and repeating.

“If these experiences sound familiar, it doesn’t mean you’re broken or failing.” 

To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Burdon-Bailey and Priory have released a detailed online guide to AuDHD, to help people recognise and manage their behaviours and feelings. 

Burdon-Bailey added: “Autism and ADHD both indicate a form of different wiring in the brain. They don’t indicate that anything is intrinsically wrong and they don’t cancel each other out; they interact. For some people, one set of traits may be more visible at certain times of life. For others, both are always present but expressed differently day-to-day.

“AuDHD isn’t about fitting into a new box. It’s about acknowledging overlap, variation and individuality, and recognising that it’s valid to experience both autistic and ADHD traits in your own way.”

AuDHD traits don’t stay the same across a lifetime, and can be different in boys and girls. 

Burdon-Bailey said: “Whether traits are recognised early or much later, children and adults, boys and girls, may share the same underlying differences. They may simply express them in ways that fit their stage of life and the demands placed on them. Recognising this can be an important step towards feeling understood and reassured, rather than confused or self-critical.”

Burdon-Bailey added: “Autism and ADHD both indicate a form of different wiring in the brain. They don’t indicate that anything is intrinsically wrong and they don’t cancel each other out; they interact. For some people, one set of traits may be more visible at certain times of life. For others, both are always present but expressed differently day-to-day.

“AuDHD isn’t about fitting into a new box. It’s about acknowledging overlap, variation and individuality, and recognising that it’s valid to experience both autistic and ADHD traits in your own way.”

AuDHD traits don’t stay the same across a lifetime, and can be different in boys and girls. For a full guide, visit AuDHD.

Burdon-Bailey said: “Whether traits are recognised early or much later, children and adults, boys and girls, may share the same underlying differences. They may simply express them in ways that fit their stage of life and the demands placed on them. Recognising this can be an important step towards feeling understood and reassured, rather than confused or self-critical.”