5 Signs You Have ADHD and Autism: No Music Edition

🔍 Exploring ADHD and Autism | 5 Common Signs and Symptoms 🧠
Before I was diagnosed with ADHD and Autism, I often wondered why certain things were challenging for me and why I thought so differently from others. Like what the heck is going on with my brain? Do you ever have similar thoughts?
Maybe you're watching this video wondering, "Do I have ADHD or autism?" I can't diagnose you, but I can share with you five common signs that might resonate with your experiences.
If you relate to these signs, you're not alone! Share your experiences in the comments below. Let's support and learn from each other.
*NOTE: This is the same awesome video as "5 Signs You Have ADHD and Autism" - without the background music, by popular demand. Enjoy!
Remember to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more content!
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Distractibility and Structure
02:15 - School Challenges
02:56 - Sensory Sensitivities
03:59 - My favorite scent
05:24 - Social Interaction Challenges
06:24 - Reading Emotional Cues
08:02 - Challenges in Expressing Emotions
09:18 - Emotional Escalation and Seeking Comfort
11:15 - Struggles with Routine
12:26 - Recognizing traits
✨ Need some great autism tips to help your holidays go smoothly? Get our FREE resource here: chrisanddebby.mykajabi.com/ho...
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2. Ono Roller: onoroller.com?sca_ref=4880234.xpzLrB3REJ (use our coupon code CHRISANDDEBBY for 10% off!)
📚 FAVORITE BOOKS
1. Why We Sleep (Matthew Walker): amzn.to/46GJOd7
2. Un-Typical (Pete Wharmby): amzn.to/40TEfG6
🎧 FAVORITE HEADPHONES
1. Soundcore Noise Canceling Headphones: amzn.to/3LMkWIn
2. Bose Noise Canceling Headphones: amzn.to/3tegj3t
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3. Ugg Slippers: amzn.to/3sRkQsH
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1. Manta Sleep Masks: bit.ly/4acwSy3
🎥 FILM SETUP: ✈️ Starter/Travel Kit
1. Sony Alpha 6400: amzn.to/3QUmEth
2. Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E: amzn.to/3MUYYnl
3. RODE Ultra-Compact On-Camera Shotgun Microphone: amzn.to/46u6BYO
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5. Joilcan 75” Tripod: amzn.to/46v1J5B
PS: Purchasing through these links may give us an affiliate kickback (at no additional cost to you) and help us continue to make awesome content. Thanks for your support!
⭐️ ABOUT US:
I'm Chris and alongside Debby, my brilliant partner, we've traveled, founded companies, and navigated the world as a neurodiverse duo.
Whether it's better business tips, relationship hacks, travel tales, or just a peek into our everyday life, we've got a lot to share. So if you want to join a community that's all about improving lives, you're in the right place. Give a thumbs up if you enjoy the video, drop your thoughts or your own experiences in the comments, and hey, maybe consider subscribing? Cheers to a better life!
➡️ Remember to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more content!
📍STAY CONNECTED:
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Email: [e-mail]
#ADHD #autism #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #autismawareness #ASD #actuallyautistic

[@JonBrase]

I find that my natural unit of conversation tends to be a paragraph, whereas for others it's a sentence. Others don't leave enough room in conversations for me to feel that I'm being given a turn to speak, and I don't release my turn to speak as quickly as people expect.

[@vawkwardbat]

Yes 😮 I feel you. In writing I feel so embarrassed after that I wrote a paragraph or more. And everyone talks in a few words at a time. Oops. Taking turn stress is lessened online at least!

[@alorena_02]

Thank you so much for the effort of posting the video without background music too❣❣

[@ChrisandDebby]

My pleasure 😊

[@EsmereldaPea]

I was ready to dismiss the video but saw the comment and came here.

[@conniebruckner8190]

much better without music in the background! you make good points!

[@ChrisandDebby]

Thanks for watching!! Glad you like this version - we are working on updating our older videos to include the "no music" versions too, so keep checking back! (And also will be adjusting the background sound for future videos too)

[@SylviaRustyFae]

​@@ChrisandDebby Thank you so much for makin the effort to make your videos even more accessible, and for optin to change things goin fwd to try to further accommodate from the get go

[@Tilly850]

Phew! no music version is like my brain can relax and hear what you are saying. Crowds, parties...same thing. I spent many YEARS wondering why people said these things are fun.

[@AGothWithGlasses]

When I'm having a meltdown at home, there is this painting I have with sharp shapes and colors, staring at it and following the lines and corners of each shape helps me calm down as it focuses my brain on something pleasant for me to look at. Trippy tapestries and geometric art soothes me.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

That sounds similar to almost any of the standard groundin techniques like the 5 senses method or the rainbow colours method; where the pt is to get you to slow down for a second and take in smth in your surroundins to better ground yourself For me when i ground myself i run thru the rainbow of colours and usually what rly gets the calm to come on easiest, at least when home, is to just look at all my stuffys... As inevitably one of the rainbow of colours is gonna have to be one of them, and not just cuz i have several rainbow coloured stuffys heh When i get to the stuffys is usually when the calm starts to set on as my brain has a lot of pleasant associations with these comfort objects. And if i feel still ungrounded afterward, my instinct will likely be to grab one of my stuffys and hug them tight for the pressure n comfort stim feels to reach a grounded state

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Oh i also have my room walls just covered in crayon drawings; both my own colourin work and also stuff made by a game creator i like a lot. And for those, that visual distraction, while not necessarily about groundin when overwhelmed, still help to keep me reachin that pt i feel Bcuz it helps my ADHD side to have a busy and colourful environment to distract a part of it; and without that i find the overwhelm builds easier and faster. I also have several mirrors around my room which further the visual distractions by distortin and mirrorin them

[@lionunderthestars7019]

Hi. I am 71, retired, diagnosed ADHD at 45 and self diagnosed autistic this year. I wasn't sure I wanted to subscribe because I am not interested in finance or travel, but I very much enjoy your humor and ADHD/AUD content. So I subscribed. Don't even remember how long I have been doing this, but for quite awhile, I have burritos for lunch every day. More recently I have changed it up some and have them for breakfast instead. Looking forward to more videos. Thanks.

[@ChrisandDebby]

Wow! Thanks for sharing! I’m really glad you’re here. I love burritos

[@lionunderthestars7019]

@@ChrisandDebby Happy Thanksgiving! Is it turkey or Thai today?

[@silvial.9232]

I came from the Music video version. Thank you for posting this one🙏 Greatings from Italy

[@janicemartin2197]

Interrupting others, I struggle so hard with this one too! When possible, I write my thought on paper so I can better focus on the speaker. Then when they are finished I can say my thoughts. It's not perfect, but it helps.

[@TheZGALa]

I was incarcerated a few times in my teens. :( Even though I studied autism specifically while getting a degree in special education, I didn't realize I have ASD and ADHD until age 50. It has been quite a ride!

[@ChrisandDebby]

That’s very similar to me! Was in education for almost 2 decades and didn’t realize, even after working with autistic kids, until very recently (age 41). Had the adhd diagnosis several years earlier but still learning what it means to have both (AuDHD)

[@hugsdontwork2283]

You ate the same meal for 12 days and think it's odd... I've been living on Huel shakes for 3 or 4 years and I'm still not sure I'm in to it :D

[@catintheuk]

Thank you for making this content, it's so relatable and done in a positive, upbeat way, which I really appreciate. I struggle with maintaining focus, get easily distracted, have trouble listening and hearing someone talk if there is any background noise or other conversations going on, can escalate emotionally rapidly and then take forever to calm down, get completely overwhelmed and anxious in a group setting (especially parties), struggle to identify and respond correctly to other people's emotions (although I do care and get guilty about not being helpful), hate itchy/scratchy clothing and labels... I could go on, LoL 😂

[@ChrisandDebby]

Yup… that sounds just like me! Parties are brutal. I want to hide in the bathroom. Afterwords, I have to nap or recover for a day because of all the masking. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!!

[@Estella-PlanetCreativeStudios]

I love that you offer a version of your video without music. The music was a little distracting. 😊

[@ChrisandDebby]

Yes. Im going to continue making 2 versions of the videos to help support viewers. I don’t want anyone getting headaches or dizzy.

[@allison4644]

​@@ChrisandDebbyty. Sometimes, I can tolerate background music, depends.. But when keystroke sounds & fast talking compound sound input to a body that has already processed a lot of other stimuli throughout the day, sometimes I just mute a vid & skim or read the transcript. If I find some info grabs me, I will save to rewatch.

[@MrZrazies]

Im deaf and HFA and ADHD. Sure, its easy for me to not able to hear anything but still everything else is a struggles. Being not able to hear. I ALWAYS look around my surroundings cuz i cant hear anything going on around me. I do get burnt out lot. Sensory gets overloaded like everytime i go out. i have blue eyes and brightness does hurt my eyes. I wear glasses with uv protection. Growing up wearing hearing aids always bothered me. Hurt my ears that I kept taking it off and my parents gave up and let me not wearing it. They didnt know about hfa issues till years later. I was little kid. But for communication skills and social skills is actually really tough for me.

[@ChrisandDebby]

I feel like being deaf would really exasperate certain things. Losing one sense usually means your other senses are enhanced, but for an autistic that could be extremely challenging! I haven’t lived your experiences. Do certain smells really overwhelm you? I hear you (no pun intended) when you mention social and communication challenges. I wonder how challenging social interactions would be for you communicating with me or anyone who’s autistic. Do you mostly use sign language? If so, it would be challenging for to communicate with you because I don’t know sign language. But I’ve always wanted to learn! You’re the first deaf autistic I’ve chatted with! Thank you!

[@LadyPelikan]

Thank you for this version without the background music!

[@luciskies]

I immediately click the link with the no music option! Thank you so much. I absolutely love music, but it’s hard to focus on the dialogue when I end up focusing on the music instead lol.

[@ChrisandDebby]

Glad it was helpful! We’re working on adding more of these and also adjusting the music volume for future videos

[@TheZGALa]

I deal in fragrances. Thanks for mentioning devil wood--gonna find it.

[@ChrisandDebby]

If you make a fragrance with devil wood, I will be your first customer for sure

[@TheZGALa]

Awesome...though unfortunately there are many natural fragrances that just can't be captured as some change/evaporate quickly, especially in delicate flowers. I found some floral waxes that are sometimes very close to the natural flowers...I think this might be related to osmanthus (which I do carry)...and also called olive wood. Is it the flower or the wood or the entire tree that you find intoxicating? I love a nice rabbit hole to investigate, so thanks again! :) @@ChrisandDebby

[@TheZGALa]

I eat the same thngs over and over again too. Why eat something else when you can have your favorite?

[@overlordl1]

Thank you for the removal of the background music.

[@ChrisandDebby]

Glad it helps!

[@UncomfortableGinger]

1:07 when I was being assessed for ADHD, I told the doctor that leaving meetings for a quick break is totally normal, and he asked me how many of my colleagues did that. Answer: none, but I never disrupted meetings because I took my lil break.

[@angeladyson7367]

About the only ones you mentioned that I don't struggle with in some form are the need to eat the same meal for several days in a row (except I love g/f oatmeal with walnuts, banana and maple syrup and could quite happily have that for breakfast most of the time without getting tired of it but if I had to do that with supper I'd get seriously bored. The other thing you mentioned that is sort of the reverse for me I really struggle with time, I'm almost always late, for everything and I'm relieved when friends are late because usually I'm not ready and being late can sometimes cause me to panic but yet if if something changes in some other way that I'm used to I have a hard time dealing with it. As you say some things we can learn to adapt over time but it doesn't mean we don't struggle.

[@ligavasara-brakmane4051]

Thank you so much for the no music video.

[@ChrisandDebby]

You are very welcome!!

[@julisplett2748]

I so so relate to the flower olfactory need to devour the smell. I know others may judge but who cares anymore?

[@AliiKattTalks]

The routine and food issues are so ingrained for me, switching to bodybuilding was cake! I've eaten a variation of the same meals for a year now, and I don't feel limited whatsoever.

[@chriscohlmeyer4735]

Hyperfocus - I liked to read anything and everything partly as a means to work with my dyslexia, yes a bit weird but increasing my vocabulary and understanding of word usage in different contexts improved my ability to correctly guess what a word should be (yes I did end up guessing wrong sometimes but normally figured out that I made an error, sometimes pretty funny ones). Often my body said you need to go pee, my mind said one more chapter, ten chapters later go pee now or wet your pants as you try to get up!!!

[@thisisit3333]

Night-blooming jasmine and eucalyptus are my ‘devil wood!’

[@ChrisandDebby]

I’m going to look into these and see if I can get them where I am. I love devil wood!!

[@avivacrichton6922]

Night blooming cereus. It’s… intense. The blooms last for one night and it’s incredible.

[@rycarr]

Thank you for posting this. I'm still searching for the answer, working towards requesting an official diagnosis. It seems to fit, but we'll see what I find. It's good hearing that I'm not alone in some of the struggles I face daily. For a while I thought I was broken. Thank you for the lack of music in this, it made it a lot easier to focus on what you were saying.

[@ChrisandDebby]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Those feelings of being alone were part of why we started this channel, so I’m really happy to hear it’s helping. We just shared a video of my own diagnosis story - it was a long road and everyone’s journey is a bit different, but you might to check it out for yourself. Hope it’s helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJbVnXyBhaqaircsi=dy3iZL5I0SNvfzlR

[@gingerconnoisseur7395]

I'm diagnosed with ASD, and I struggle with these things that make me think I have ADHD as well. It's just hard to justify paying 1500+ dollars to get a screening. What if I'm just overthinking everything? What If I spend the money iust for them to tell me I don't have it and I just wasted 5 months of wages for it?

[@Touay.]

only 12 days!!! I can go for months having the same lunch every day ....

[@ChrisandDebby]

True, I also can binge for a long time but usually take a day or two in between...but my record was 31 days on the sweet and sour pork binge

[@Touay.]

@@ChrisandDebby 😀

[@swissarmywife2039]

Thank you for the repost

[@ChrisandDebby]

And thanks for watching!! And letting us know about what helps make our videos more watchable 😊

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Just made some comments on the main version, and just here to also chime in about how much it helps me to have a no music version Like, i was interested in the vid originally; but it was this act of accommodation that made me decide i shud def subscribe, not even a min into the vid

[@LadyPelikan]

Thank you!!! I'm going to use this as a template, before seeing a psychiatrist to get diagnosed. I think it's a really good list of most of my symptoms, and will be very helpful.

[@magnolia2]

My head was throbbing with the music. I think it was just too loud. Without music is more relaxing. Thanks for uploading this no music option. 😊

[@ChrisandDebby]

You are very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the No music option.

[@tracirex]

ugh, I was eating oily nut butter when you blurted out "diahhrea sucks"

[@qimzel]

I've been diagnosed with ASD at 42 last november.. But the more I deepdive (of course.. 😂), the more I think I also may have ADHD, but it's so internal because of functioning all those years not knowing what was "wrong" with me.. Don't know if it's worth it to get the official confirmation for the ADHD.. Although there's maybe meds that I can try then? Excuse the braindump 😅 thanks for the video!

[@turtleanton6539]

Very real

[@cecilyerker]

No music gang ❤

[@ChrisandDebby]

It’s nice to have the option. I’m going to keep making 2 versions so we all can enjoy them without getting dizzy or a headache.

[@Richard-rd1ki]

That's me

[@jasoni4090]

Can you please describe the texture of that NeeDoh cube? Is it at all tacky? Also, once I ate puttanesca for dinner every night for six months. 😅

[@dn3305]

Can you please craft a devilwood candle? :D

[@tylerherchian7167]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@helenek2736]

Both am I though I am puzzled why you are using the puzzle piece for ASD, I like how you make videos but why why! are you not aware of what most of the ASD community feels about the organization behind that puzzle symbolism

[@ChrisandDebby]

Thanks for your comment and I’m thrilled you like the video!! For the thumbnail, I didn’t choose the puzzle pieces to symbolize autism, but rather to symbolize how my brain thinks. I’m not using one puzzle piece, it’s a full image. I’m aware of some of the controversy surrounding using a puzzle piece to symbolize autism (and still learning), but this was the best way I could think of to visualize the ways my brain thinks with both asd and adhd. I’m not affiliated with any group or organization and I beat to my own drum. I’m just trying to help ppl better understand asd and adhd. If you have any suggestions for another way to visually represent the organized thinking structure of asd besides the puzzle picture, I’d love to hear them.

[@helenek2736]

@@ChrisandDebby Thanks for taking the time to respond ;). If you want to keep the puzzle idea you can also use another like the StonKraft 3-in-One Wooden Puzzle 3D (if you search that you know what i mean wow they are expensive! ) lol or Tangram. Then the autism speaks logo is not there, it is kinda also a kids puzzle piece, although we use kids stimming toys it doesn't mean we should be associated with kids all the time. You yourself are an example of someone who, despite having to overcome hurdles, has found or created a work environment where you can function something to be proud of. My first impression of you was the "shy" and you surprised me with your humor and forwardness in your video's.

[@ChrisandDebby]

@@helenek2736 this is a great idea! We'll get to work on the adjusted version for the cover but will take a little time. Also will keep this in mind for the future with regards to the puzzle piece element, so we will update here when we get the new thumbnail up. Thanks for your nice words too! And now to find one of those wooden puzzles...sounds like the perfect relaxing activity for the holidays

[@darbydelane4588]

⁠@@ChrisandDebbyI find that puzzle piece metaphor so helpful for teaching, as well. It is too bad it triggers so many people.

[@lotte7171]

Without the music but still so distracting with all the other sounds and popups....sorry, can't listen to this.

[@tracirex]

maybe we can get Chris and Debby to go sound effect free. That would be dreamy.

[@rycarr]

The same meal for 2 or 3 weeks? Those are some rookie numbers. :)

[@ChrisandDebby]

Hahaha! Now that I’m not masking as much, I’ve gotten up to 2 months, but I know there are pros out there that have been eating the same meal for decades.