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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]They're two entirely different disorders.  ASD is a disorder of social communication and repetitive behaviors.  A good clinician will be able to administer the ADOS in such a way that elicits the difference between a child who CAN engage in expected social communication, but might appear inattentive or unable to focus on communication due to ADHD. and one who cannot (due to ASD).  They are really two different things, and if your doctor is saying he/she can't tell the difference, then you need a better doctor.  If you truly believe your child is borderline or has both, then select two respected teaching hospitals with expert clinics (say CHOP and KKI) and get two sets of testing done. [/quote]

Not entirely different - recent research is showing that these disorders may be more closely related than we previously thought.

OP, they way our dr. made the diagnosis was by measuring expressive/receptive language, and testing for non verbal social communication-- I'm sure he did other tests and observations as well.

As the pp mentioned, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests may distinguish autism-- kids with ADHD may also have some short term fixations that verge on obsessive and may also have tics, so as you point out, it can get tricky. We learned that my son does have deficits in social communication but it doesn't rise to the level of an autism diagnosis. He has ADHD with deficits in executive functions and social pragmatics. He has a friend with an HFA diagnosis and there are times when his dad and I smile at each other because sometimes these boys sound almost exactly alike. 
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