Cancer Care of Children, Adults, and Elderly with ADHD and Autism

In 2020, an estimated 1.8 million people were diagnosed with cancer in the United States. At the same time, studies show that people with autism and ADHD may risk developing certain kinds of cancer.

Given this statistic, proper care must be given to people who are living with these medical conditions. This article will answer questions such as caregivers’ problems when providing care to people with autism, ADHD, and cancer. Are autism and ADHD similar, and what are the viable ways to manage these conditions?

In addition, this write-up will tackle issues such as the similarities and differences between ADHD and autism and the therapies and treatments for both these conditions.

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How to Provide Cancer Care to People With ADHD and Autism

Providing care to people with these conditions is not easy. It requires many skills, information about the different diseases, and training to care for people with severe diseases.

However, here are some ways to provide care for people with severe medical conditions like cancer:

Become the emotional support of people with the disease. Emotional guidance is crucial for providing care to people with severe medical conditions.
Be proactive in finding solutions. Always be the person that will provide the care. Always think ahead to minimize problems when emergencies do occur.
Offer solutions to problems always. People with severe diseases tend to become hopeless. Caregivers must always provide solutions to problems and make themselves available for their patients’ concerns.
Always share positivity. Cast your positivity rays onto your loved ones. It will help people you’re providing care to if you can help people’s outlook in life despite their condition.
Help in coping with the new phase in life. Coping is essential to adjust to the new phase of life after diagnosing a severe medical condition. An outlet to share emotions is necessary for the patient to cope, adjust, and reach acceptance.

After stating the general type of care given to all people with severe conditions, here are some specific care for people with cancer, ADHD, autism, or contracted all three conditions.

There are cases where people have both ADHD and autism. Providing adequate care for people with this kind of condition requires expertise. People with professional and expert knowledge should handle these mental conditions.

Also, usual care for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) involves using medication in adults. However, for children with ADHD and ASD, non-medication alternatives may be better.

These medications do not treat or cure the condition but help alleviate its symptoms. Medication may suppress the hyperactivity and impulsiveness of children with ADHD and ASD. The most common medication given for this condition are:

Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, Quillivant)
Amphetamine (Adderall, Dexedrine, Vyvanse, Dyanavel)
Atomoxetine (Strattera)
Guanfacine (Intuniv, Tenex)

These medications require a doctor’s prescription to guide a person’s recovery from ADHD and ASD.

ADHD and Autism (ASD): Are They Similar?

There are cases where a person is diagnosed with both ADHD and ASD. A question arises whether these two conditions are the same or if they are different disorders with some commonality. So, here are the similarities and differences between these two conditions.

Similarities

ADHD and ASD are both neurodevelopmental disorders. It means that brain development was affected, resulting in such disorders. Both disorders affect the nervous system and may hinder the proper function and development of focusing skills, memory, language, movement, and social skill or behavior. Scientists have agreed that ADHD and ASD may coexist, but they don’t know the exact reason.

Though ADHD and ASD coexist more commonly in children, adults have fewer cases. Children with ASD and ADHD tend to have symptoms that may last well into adulthood.

Differences

Children with ADHD have difficulty in attention retention. They cannot pay attention to the same thing or object as they get distracted easily. However, ASD children have a limited area of interest and may seem to be obsessed with things they love to do and not pay attention to things they don’t like.

ASD may have a good recall memory for details. Some may excel in science, math, and music but have difficulty excelling in other life areas. ASD may also have a high degree of focus on things they like, while ADHD may show the complete opposite.

ADHD and ASD also are different in how they communicate. People, especially children with ADHD, may talk continuously, always want to have the last word, interrupt others, and not be empathetic about the words they say to others.

Communication difficulties are characteristic of autism. Some children with ADHD have these difficulties, but they typically present differently.

On the other hand, children with ASD may have difficulty expressing emotions and thoughts and not using gestures to communicate with others. They focus or fixate on one topic in a conversation, do not understand social activities, and may not be socially active.

Available Therapies and Treatments for ADHD and Autism

Therapies and treatment for ADHD and autism depend on the person, their symptoms, and other conditions such as cancer or other severe diseases. In most cases, therapy done for people with ADHD and ASD is behavioral therapy and medication.

There are added therapies for children with ASD or autism according to their needs. These additional therapies are: