Tisha Campbell Reveals Her Own Autism and ADHD Diagnosis: ‘I Have AuDHD’s

Tisha Campbell has revealed she’s been diagnosed with both autism and ADHD — an answer that arrived only after she finished writing a memoir about raising her autistic son.

The “Martin” and “My Wife and Kids” star is promoting her newly released book, “The A Word: A Mother’s Journey Through Autism and Love,” which chronicles her experience raising her son Xen, who was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old. Campbell, who is 57, received her own diagnosis after completing the book, adding a layer to a story she’d spent years telling as a mother.

During a candid conversation on “Way Up With Angela Yee,” Campbell described how she got there.

“So I actually saw two specialists,” Campbell told Yee. “I took 12 tests each, and they all vary from oral tests to written tests to Q&As. And I took all 12 twice, and I got my diagnosis back.”

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Yee immediately asked Campbell what the diagnosis was. 

“I have AuDHD,” Campbell revealed, “which is a newer diagnosis where you have partial ADHD and autism. So I have a lot of autistic tendencies and I’m level one.” 

While Campbell described AuDHD as a newer diagnosis, it isn’t a standalone one. Cleveland Clinic explains that the term describes the experience of living with both autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — separate neurodevelopmental conditions that can co-occur, but that the DSM-5 doesn’t combine into a single diagnosis. Her reference to “level one” points to the least intensive of the three support levels clinicians use to describe autism. clevelandclinic

The term has become increasingly common as researchers and clinicians have recognized the overlap. The two were once considered mutually exclusive; the DSM-5 changed that in 2013 by allowing a dual diagnosis. A 2022 review in Frontiers in Psychiatry reports that an estimated 50% to 70% of autistic people also have ADHD — though its authors caution that reported rates across studies swing anywhere from 10% to 90%. AuDHD: Autism and ADHD +2

So what does AuDHD look like? It varies from person to person. Cleveland Clinic notes that someone with both can show a blend of traits: intense interest in a narrow range of topics, a preference for routine paired with trouble staying organized, difficulty reading social cues, restlessness and distractibility, acting on impulse, and hyperfocus. clevelandclinic

Campbell described how she navigates her own sensory and processing differences.

“So for me, I may not look like I need support, but I have earphones to block out sounds because I too have audio processing differences,” Campbell said. “Like, everything comes at me all at once.”

She also explained that many autistic people have what’s now called a “special interest,” a trait clinicians once labeled an obsession or fixation. Hers, she said, has always been acting and music.

Campbell said she now feels like she knows herself “so much better,” and that she no longer has to hide parts of herself from friends and family after a lifetime of masking.

After the interview, social media users shared their own experiences with autism and AuDHD.

On TikTok, one user wrote: “I’m so happy to see Black women discussing autism and how it presents in BLACK WOMEN! I got diagnosed at 37.”

“I have AuDHD as well!” another wrote. “Baby, we are the BEST actors, hands down, because of the masking! It’s a superpower!”

And a third: “Her son probably feels even more seen now that he knows she is autistic as well.”