Autism and autism features in a young adult ADHD population, gender differences and use of the RAADS-14.

Authors

Marie Boilson, Aidan Roarty, Andrew Stanfield, Tom Berney, Diarmuid Lenihan, Mary Doherty, Sophie O Dea

Published in

Irish journal of psychological medicine. Pages 1-9. Jul 15, 2026. Epub Jul 15, 2026.

Abstract

Diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism have broadened and are common at estimated adult prevalences of 3%. This paper explores the incidence of autism and overlap of features in ADHD young adults transitioning from Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS) into a specialist adult ADHD service, and the utility of the Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale 14 (RAADS-14) assisting assessment and support planning.
This comparative cohort study included all young adult ADHD patients referred from CAMHS. A comprehensive assessment and diagnostic formulation, including RAADS-14 was completed. Those without a current autism diagnosis but clinical assessment suggested autism, underwent further assessment. Percentage of autistic and ADHD young adults was calculated. RAADS-14 total and subscale scores were compared between groups. Gender differences were assessed.
Co-occurrence of autism in a group of young adults diagnosed with ADHD was high (53%). High levels of autism features were evident in the ADHD only group. Significant differences in the RAADS-14 sub-scores (social anxiety, mentalizing and sensory sensitivities) were found between the autistic ADHD and non autistic ADHD groups. Autistic females scored higher on all domains of the RAADS-14 compared to males. Sensory sensitivities were significantly higher in females in both groups.
The level of co-occurrence of autism, and overlap of features, suggests employment of neurodevelopmental rather than single condition approaches to avoid mis-diagnosis/missed diagnoses. Sensory sensitivities are suggestive of neurodevelopmental differences particularly in females regardless of diagnostic category. The RAADS-14 may be helpful as part of screening and support planning.

PMID:
42454461
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Jul 2026.

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