Executive functioning differences between adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autistic spectrum disorder in initiation, planning and strategy formation.
Adult ADHD and autism show separate executive fingerprints—ADHD in stopping, autism in starting and planning—that you can spot with the right tasks.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bramham et al. (2009) compared executive skills in three adult groups: ADHD, autism spectrum, and neurotypical.
They gave tasks that test starting actions, planning, and making new plans.
The goal was to see if each diagnosis shows a different pattern of strengths and gaps.
What they found
Adults with ADHD slipped mainly on stopping quick responses.
Adults with autism showed wider trouble: they hesitated to start, planned poorly, and built fewer strategies.
These distinct profiles can guide which tests you pick during assessment.
How this fits with other research
Sofronoff et al. (2011) conceptually replicated the ADHD inhibition finding. Their adults with autism were slow but accurate, while ADHD adults acted impulsively.
Tonizzi et al. (2022) meta-analysis and Karaca et al. (2026) meta-analysis both include the 2009 data. The metas confirm moderate planning deficits in high-functioning autism, matching the broader autism pattern seen here.
Nydén et al. (2010) looked similar on paper but reached a different headline. They saw broad, overlapping weaknesses and claimed no unique signature. The key difference is scope: Agneta used a wide battery, while Jessica focused tightly on initiation, planning, and strategy. Narrow tests reveal the fine-grain differences that broad screens can miss.
Why it matters
You now have a quick rule of thumb: suspect ADHD if stopping is the main issue; suspect autism if the client also stalls on starting, planning, and flexible thinking. Use stop-signal tasks for ADHD and planning or zoo-map tasks for autism. This focused approach can speed up differential diagnosis and help you write clearer, diagnosis-linked treatment goals.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a quick planning task like the zoo map to your adult autism battery; note if slow starts appear even when stopping is fine.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Executive functioning deficits characterize the neuropsychological profiles of the childhood neurodevelopmental disorders of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). This study sought to determine whether similar impairments exist in adults with ADHD (N = 53) and ASD (N = 45) in comparison with a healthy control group (N = 31), whether the two disorders can be distinguished on the basis of their executive functioning features, and whether these impairments are related to symptom severity. Both clinical groups were found to exhibit executive functioning deficits. The ADHD group had difficulty withholding a response, with relative preservation of initiation and planning abilities. In contrast, the ASD group exhibited significant impairments in initiation, planning and strategy formation. The specific executive functioning deficits were related to severity of response inhibition impairments in ADHD and stereotyped, repetitive behaviours in ASD. These findings suggest the pattern of executive functioning deficits follows a consistent trajectory into adulthood.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2009 · doi:10.1177/1362361309103790