Is It Really "Behavior"? Medical Issues We May Miss in Autistic & ADHD Kids

What if the "behavior" you're seeing isn't simply behavior?

When an autistic or ADHD child suddenly becomes more irritable, anxious, withdrawn, aggressive, avoidant, or emotionally dysregulated, it's easy to focus on what we can see—and how to make it stop.

But what if the behavior is actually a clue?

In this episode of The Autism ADHD Podcast, I'm joined by my dear friend Dr. Purnima Valdez, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center.

Together, we explore medical, emotional, and environmental factors that may contribute to changes in behavior in autistic and ADHD children and teens—and why some of these concerns can be surprisingly easy to miss.

Because even a child who speaks fluently may not be able to recognize, interpret, or communicate:

"Something doesn't feel right in my body."

Instead, we may see irritability, anxiety, withdrawal, aggression, avoidance, emotional dysregulation, or other changes in behavior.

And that's where curiosity becomes incredibly important.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why behavior can be important information—not an explanation

• Sleep difficulties, fractured sleep, snoring, and sleep apnea