Neurodivergence & hEDS/HSD
The Link Between ADHD, Autism, and Hypermobility
None of us writing this are doctors. This page collects what the published research actually says about the overlap between neurodivergence and joint hypermobility, so you have something concrete to bring to your own doctor.
If you or someone in your family is autistic, has ADHD, or has a tic disorder, and also happens to be unusually flexible, that is not a coincidence you are imagining. It is a documented, statistically significant pattern - though it is one researchers are still working out the mechanism for.
How Common Is Hypermobility in Autism, ADHD, and Tourette's?
A 2022 study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry compared 109 adults with a formal diagnosis of autism, ADHD, or tic disorder (Tourette syndrome) against a comparison group and general population rates in the UK. The neurodivergent group showed a 51% prevalence of generalized joint hypermobility, compared to 20% in the general population and 17.5% in the comparison group. Using a stricter, age-specific cutoff for hypermobility, the rate was 28.4% in the neurodivergent group versus 12.5% in the comparison group - still more than double.
The odds ratio for hypermobility in the neurodivergent group compared to the general population was 4.51 (95% CI 2.17 to 9.37), and 2.84 (95% CI 1.16 to 6.94) compared to the age-matched comparison group specifically. Both are statistically significant findings from a real comparison, not a loose correlation - though a sample of 109 is a meaningful but not huge study, and the finding needs replication in larger and more diverse populations to be fully settled.
Why Hypermobility, Dysautonomia, and Neurodivergence Show Up Together
The same study found that neurodivergent participants reported significantly more symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (dizziness or fainting related to standing, the same territory as POTS) and musculoskeletal pain than the comparison group. Critically, the number of hypermobile joints a person had was itself linked to how severe their dysautonomia and pain symptoms were - suggesting hypermobility is not just a coincidental extra diagnosis, but something that may actively mediate the connection between neurodivergence and these physical symptoms.
What this does not mean: it does not mean hypermobility causes autism or ADHD, or the reverse. The study describes a statistical association and a possible shared mechanism involving connective tissue and the autonomic nervous system, not a simple cause-and-effect chain. Exactly why these systems are linked is still an open research question.
What to do with this
If you are neurodivergent and also deal with joint pain, dizziness on standing, or other physical symptoms that have not been connected to anything, this research is a reasonable thing to bring up with a doctor - it may be worth a hypermobility assessment (see our Beighton Score page) alongside whatever else is already being managed. The reverse is also worth knowing: if you have hEDS or HSD and have never been evaluated for ADHD or autism, the elevated co-occurrence rate found here means it is a legitimate thing to ask about, not an unrelated fishing expedition.
Sources referenced on this page