Signs and symptoms
Do you think you or your child may have ADHD or a learning disability? Learn common signs and symptoms of ADHD and dyslexia. Find out how to get evaluated and diagnosed.
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Tips and strategies
- Quick tipTry to show empathy.
Kids often act out when they’re struggling with something and having trouble putting it into words. You can say, “I understand you’re feeling a lot of emotions. I’m not sure what’s happening, but we’ll figure it out together.”
- Quick tipReach out from the start.
You don’t need to wait for parent-teacher conferences to start talking with your child’s teacher. Reach out at the beginning of the school year to start building a relationship. It can take time to get comfortable sharing information with each other.
Podcast
Should I get tested for ADHD?
Wondering if you have enough ADHD symptoms? If it’s worth the effort to get tested? Host Dr. Roberto Olivardia shares his own adult diagnosis story.
Downloads
ADHD icebergPDF
Anxiety pattern finderPDF
Anxiety trackerPDF
Calming strategies worksheetPDF
More resources
All articles
- What is AuDHD?
- Dyslexia signs in adults
- 8 things that go into an ADHD evaluation for a child
- Can Ritalin increase anxiety in children?
- Trouble with receptive language: What you’re seeing
- Trouble with expressive language: What you’re seeing
- Signs of receptive language disorder
- Signs of expressive language disorder at different ages
- 7 common myths about dyslexia
- Signs of dyslexia at different ages
- A day in the life of an employee with dyslexia
- Signs of written expression disorder
- Signs of dyscalculia at different ages
- Download: ADHD iceberg infographic
- ADHD symptoms at different ages
- Video: How is ADHD diagnosed in kids?
- 6 signs your child is burned out
- Getting an IEP for your very young child
- Types of tests for dyslexia
- 6 reasons why kids refuse to read
- Signs of slow processing speed at different ages
- Types of tests for dysgraphia
- Treatment for kids with developmental coordination disorder
- I just found out my child has slow processing speed. Now what?
- What ADHD feels like to me
- What’s the difference between sluggish cognitive tempo and slow processing speed?
- Why do some kids always interrupt people?
- Why do some kids have trouble counting?
- Do boys and girls show the same signs of ADHD?
- How to tell a tantrum from a meltdown
- Who can diagnose learning and thinking differences in adults?
- Why do some kids daydream so much during class?
- Brain network study shows why executive function improves as kids get older
- Learning disabilities: What they are and aren’t
- How to look for patterns in your child
- Signs of depression at different ages
- Year by year: Early intervention, early screening, and special education evaluation
- Why do kids misbehave?
- Could anxiety in girls actually be ADHD?
- Stealth dyslexia: How some dyslexic students escape detection
- What to do if you notice learning and thinking differences in other people’s kids
- Understanding ADHD in your child
- 6 steps to request an early intervention evaluation
- Rapid automatized naming tests: What you need to know
- Types of tests for developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
- Specialists who work with babies and toddlers
- Dyscalculia in preschool: 4 signs you might see
- Dyscalculia in grade school: 4 signs you might see
- Dyscalculia in high school: 4 signs you might see
- Hyperactivity in teens with ADHD: What it can look like
- Skills that can be affected by dyslexia
- Do private schools have to evaluate kids for special education?
- Impatient child? Why some kids can’t wait their turn
- Why does my child lie so much?
- Why some kids seem immature compared to other kids their age
- Do I have ADHD?
- Conversation starters for pediatricians to use with families whose kids are struggling
- 5 confusing signs of nonverbal learning disabilities
- What’s the difference between a speech impairment and a language disorder?
- What your child is expected to learn in high school
- Developmental milestones for 2-year-olds
- Developmental milestones for 1-year-olds
- Developmental milestones for 3-year-olds
- 5 common myths about dyspraxia
- Developmental-behavioral pediatricians: What you need to know
- Are dyspraxia and DCD the same thing?
- 8 reasons kids might read slowly
- Developmental milestones for second and third graders
- Trouble with executive function at different ages
- Back-to-school anxiety in kids: What to watch out for
- Developmental milestones for high-schoolers
- Signs of anxiety in tweens and teens
- Developmental milestones for fourth and fifth graders
- Developmental milestones for middle-schoolers
- Developmental milestones for first graders
- Working with money and coins: Why some kids struggle with it
- Why some kids struggle with spelling
- When do kids learn how to rhyme?
- Why some kids don’t like keeping score in games and sports
- Is dyspraxia a learning disability?
- My teen stopped talking to me. Should I be worried?
- Developmental milestones from birth to age 1
- Developmental milestones for kindergartners
- Developmental milestones for 4-year-olds
- Early intervention services: Who pays for what
- What teachers see: How ADHD impacts learning in grade school
- The difference between ADHD and autism
- The difference between sensory processing challenges and ADHD
- Video: Does ADHD ever just go away?
- Trouble sequencing: Why some people do things out of order
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) fact sheet
- The difference between typical anxiety and an anxiety problem
- Signs of anxiety in young kids
- Understanding why kids struggle with writing
- Is there a link between ADHD and bedwetting?
- Why some kids are so forgetful
- Why kids don’t hand in their work (even if they did it)
- Understanding impulsivity in kids
- Understanding why kids struggle with organization
- The difference between tantrums and meltdowns
- 6 unexpected signs that your child is frustrated at school
- Video: Should I get my child evaluated? Advice from a mom (and expert)
- Why kids act out
- Child can’t wind down at night? Why some kids struggle to go to sleep
- Written expression disorder fact sheet
- Child procrastinating? Why kids struggle with time management
- When older kids still have tantrums: What to know
- Why kids have trouble finding the right word to say
- Why kids have trouble following a routine or schedule
- Why kids say negative things about themselves
- Why kids in fourth grade often get angry
- Why kids have trouble understanding math symbols
- Why some kids have messy backpacks
- The difference between ADHD and executive function challenges