I am so thoroughly confused, can ADHD medicine help asperger syndrom kids?

[transientChris]

My older dd has many quirks but her quirkiness disappears with ADHD medicine. She is severely ADHD. THe medicine takes care of it from morning toaround 4 or 5 or later if she takes her ritalin for the evening. But so many of the things you all describe about your Aspie kids are the same things she does. The repetitive speech, the jumping up and down and waving her arms around when she is excited, the tone of voice, etc. NOw I know that some thinking is that ADHD is a milder or different manifestation of some of the same issues like autism spectrum disorders. Her quirks not only are modulated by her ADHD medicine but also by where she is in her cycle. Any thoughts?

[elise1mds]

ADHD and Aspergers can be comorbid disorders. My son was diagnosed with both. The ADHD symptoms are even worse when his anxiety flares up. We did use medication last year when he was in private kindergarten, and they helped some but not nearly as much as one of my friends who has a child with only ADHD and no other issues. She was amazed that my son was on nearly as much medication as hers and still having problems. So yes, IMHO they can help but are definitely not a cure-all :)