Signs that your daughter might have ADHD

There are many symptoms of ADHD shared by both boys and girls. The following are examples of how they can manifest in girls:

1. Homework takes longer than it should. She forgets about it or is distracted by surfing the internet or texting her friends and ends up staying up late the night before an assignment is due to finish it.

2. She is an inefficient student. While she appears to study for tests, her performance does not seem to match the time spent studying.

3. She has weak reading comprehension. She can get facts from a text but does not make links between the ideas she reads. She misses details in instructions on assignments and tests.

4. She struggles with friendships because she does not read social cues or follow conversations. Peers start to reject and isolate her or make fun of her.

5. She forgets things she needs (e.g. dance shoes or soccer cleats). This is a classic sign but agreeable girls with ADHD will often have friends or adults who compensate for them (for example sharing a pen because she doesn't have one).

6. She misplaces her things regularly (for example her phone, keys or bank card).

7. She talks, and talks and talks.

8. She does not run and climb about like boys but is the classroom helper and is social and chatty in class.

9. She has lots of friends because she is fun to be around but when she tries to organize activities she seems anxious and indecisive. Her friends help her make decisions, find her things and keep her organized.

10. She has great ideas and wants to start acting on them right away but does not finish projects or follow through.

11. She is chronically late or is not ready when she needs to be.

12. She channels hyperactivity by being involved in many extracurricular activities like swimming, school clubs and soccer.

13. She does not seem to learn from consequences.

14. She has wide swings in mood. One moment she is on top of the world and the next moment she is crushed because of a casual comment that is taken as harsh criticism.