AuDHD isn’t an easy road. Living with a brain that mixes ADHD and autism traits means facing challenges like sensory overwhelm, executive functioning struggles, burnout from masking, and the constant effort of navigating a world that wasn’t built for you. But these challenges aren’t the whole story.
The very same traits that make life harder in some moments can also be the source of incredible gifts for ourselves and our communities. Many AuDHDers find that once we understand and work with our brains and traits, we can access strengths we took for granted, and start seeing our brains not as broken, but as another way of being in and experiencing the world.
The Strengths of AuDHD
AuDHD strengths are not “superpowers.” They don’t make life magically easy, and they don’t cancel out the difficulties. However, talking about these can help us paint a fuller picture of what’s possible when we AuDHDers are understood, supported, and given space to thrive.
Here are some of the remarkable qualities of AuDHD that I see over and over again in clients, colleagues, and in my own life.
Deep Dive Thinking and Hyperfocus
Many AuDHDers have the ability to immerse ourselves completely in what we love. When something sparks interest, it can lead to hours (months, days or even years) of focused learning, practice, or creation.
This “deep dive” thinking is why an AuDHDer might know everything about a niche topic, or become a go-to expert on something. It’s also why so many AuDHDers become researchers, makers, or problem-solvers. Many of us aren’t just interested in a surface-level understanding; we want to know more and more and more.
Creative and Divergent Problem-Solving
AuDHDers are natural lateral thinkers. We can connect dots between ideas, draw parallels across disciplines, and find unexpected paths to solutions.
This kind of thinking can mean seeing new approaches to old problems, imagining fresh ways to build systems, or coming up with creative fixes when a standard method fails. What might feel like scattered thinking in a rigid environment often turns out to be innovative thinking when it’s given space to breathe. I have seen again and again how this is a strength for myself and the folks I get to work with in our work as therapists, social impact entrepreneurs, and artists, for instance. Emily Dickenson, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Virginia Woolf, Andy Warhol, Tim Burton, Hypatia of Alexandria, and Ada Lovelace are famous figures who have all been noted to show neurodivergent traits. And their minds have changed the course of human history.
Heightened Awareness and Detail Recognition
For many AuDHDers, sensory sensitivity can feel overwhelming at times. But it can also mean noticing layers of detail and catching patterns sooner.
This might look like catching subtle changes in someone’s tone, remembering textures and colors with incredible accuracy, or sensing a shift in the mood of a room. These small observations can help us create a clearer, more nuanced understanding of the world if we let them.
Empathy and Social Justice Drive
AuDHDers often feel things all the way through. Our emotional lives are often vivid. This emotional depth fuels empathy and connection, and often spills over into a drive towards advocacy, art, and a profound care for others. From what I've read, Greta Thunberg and Emma Watson have many neurodivergent traits and are great examples of people with a drive to truly step in when seeing injustice.
This might show up as rallying for a cause we believe in, offering unwavering support to friends, or translating our own experiences into creative expression that resonates with others. Their feelings can be intense, but that intensity is often what moves us toward meaning-making and action.
I remember the ways this has showed up for me personally. As a child I read all of the books in our school library about animals (yes, every single one) and began biking to the community library to find more. I learned about animal testing, animal rights movements, and would rattle off facts (quite uninvited) about the corporations that were engaged and complicit in harmful practices or animal testing. As an adult, I look back on that kid creating materials and inviting people to boycott with me with endearment. I can also remember the pained expressions of family, teachers, and neighbors though. I look back on my younger self as a classic AuDHD child with intense interest in a subject, a strong social justice drive, and perhaps a less common approach to social interactions.
I see this strong social justice drive and empathy among my clients too. They feel the pains of the world so personally and acutely, and may say they can’t just ignore it or detach in the way their loved ones encourage them to for peace of mind. Many of us cry when seeing state violence in our communities and feel personally called to get involved when we learn about genocides or abuses.
I plan to actually write a whole post about neurodivergent folks and why we can be a thorn in the side of authoritarian and fascist governments, so stay tuned for that!
Authenticity and Passion
When AuDHDers care about something, we can go all in. We may bring full-hearted energy to our work, our interests, and our communities.
This authenticity can be magnetic, bringing the kind of genuine, unfiltered enthusiasm that inspires others to join in. It’s why AuDHDers often become catalysts in communities or workplaces, infusing projects with a compelling vision and drive.
Why Strengths Matter
Highlighting these strengths isn’t an attempt to gloss over the hard parts. Living with AuDHD still comes with real challenges: burnout, overwhelm, disorganization, and the constant effort of managing sensory and emotional needs in environments that rarely account for them. It can mean both craving routines and struggling so hard to actually stick to them. But talking about strengths is important too. Our wiring as AuDHDers isn’t just a list of struggles to overcome. We also often have curiosity, creativity, connection, and heart.
If you are (or suspect your are) a fellow AuDHDer or neurodivergent person, I hope you'll consider approaching your brain and patterns with more compassion. Your traits and patterns are not necessarily “wrong” but rather may be things that allow for you to have a unique role in our shared communities.
Coming Soon:
Now that we’ve explored the traits and strengths of AuDHD, the next post for AuDHDers will focus on what comes next for those who see themselves in this description. I’ll talk about reasons why it may be helpful to seek an evaluation, what the assessment process looks like, and how to navigate diagnosis with care. I hope to post that soon but in full transparency, I've been working on (read: writing, rewriting, overthinking and continually having to update) a post on the traumatic impacts of current ICE raids. So it will likely not come out until after I can finally finish that. But then soon. :)
