Primary Symptoms

• Inattention
  
  • Ignores small details and makes careless mistakes
  • Trouble sustaining attention in simple tasks or everyday activities
  • Avoids or neglects assignments that include several steps and/or require sustained mental effort
  • Difficulty with organization and regularly loses things
  • Does not seem to listen well to others (eye contact, sustained conversation)
• Impulsivity
  
  • Interrupts in conversations or other activities or speaks at the inappropriate time.
• Hyperactivity
  
  • Constant moving around or squirming while expected to stay still (sitting in class)
  • Runs about or climbs excessively when not appropriate, including leaving their seat when it is expected that they remain seated.
  • Difficulty moderating oral activity (volume and amount of speaking)

Secondary Symptoms

• Behavioral difficulties - The primary cause of behavior problems stem from either a child being active to the point of distraction or interacting with an authority figure when accounting for their lack of work.
  
  
• Poor school achievement and or learning difficulties - When a student is inattentive to his or her current assignments, unable to maintain attention for the duration of long assignments, or being active in other ways than doing their assignment the successful completion of their assignments is jeopardized.
  
  
• Poor peer relationships - While children develop, any child who operates outside the normal, accepted range of behavior will have a harder time creating relationships, because even young children are naturally cautious of those who act outside of the norm (impatience, poor communication, etc...).
  
  
• Low self-esteem - The above three mentioned secondary symptoms culminate in lowering a child's self-esteem. Achievement, acceptance, and behaving in calmer, more accepted manners can all motivate a child.