ADHD is typically most problematic in areas where you have to force yourself to pay attention to a routine or boring task - the sort of situation where your attention isn't being engaged or reinforced, and you have to actively force it. The deficit in attention is primarily in the ability to maintain it when it isn't easy. Many, many people with ADHD also have slow processing speed, which interferes with the ability to retrieve information from memory quickly and accurately. So telling your ADHD child that she will have to perform well on timed, rote, boring tasks (the same tasks that it is most difficult to pay attention on and that make the greatest demands on processing speed) in order advance to more appropriate work is somewhat akin to telling a colorblind kid that as soon as he demonstrates that he knows his colors, he can move ahead with more advanced work. If your daughter could do it consistently and reliably, she would.
If the ADHD interferes with classroom performance on these sorts of tasks, your child should have an IEP or 504 plan that addresses the disability and provides for accommodations. Access to gifted programs for children who would otherwise qualify cannot legally be denied on the basis of a disability, including ADHD or an LD.
