Melinda Sordino is the protagonist and narrator of the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. She is indeed suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from a date rape she experienced during a summer party that occurs before the action of the novel and before Melinda begins her freshman year at Merryweather High School. Because her rapist is a senior at the high school, his presence and the memory of his actions are inescapable, making her trauma worse.
Melinda's PTSD affects her live in several ways. The most clear effect comes from the title of the book - Speak. Only Melinda doesn't speak. Time and again in the novel, readers see an ellipsis (...) where Melinda chooses to say nothing rather than respond to other people's questions, concerns, anger, etc. Not only does she tell no one about the rape for months, she communicates almost none of her other thoughts and feelings either. As an explanation, she narrates, "It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say" (pg 9). Even though she seems to know she needs help, Melinda believes for a long time that there is no point in asking for it.
A related motif in the novel that shows Melinda's PTAD is the motif of mouths. Melinda mentions many times in the book that her mouth is chewed and scabbed. Readers can infer that she has developed a nervous habit of chewing on her lips, probably when she is feeling particularly frightened or confronted with her attack. Other characters notice this too. One of The Marthas, Siobhan (pronounced Sha-von, by the way - it's an Irish name) says about Melinda, "She's creepy. What's wrong with her lips? It looks like she's got a disease or something" (pg 45). Here again, Melinda's symptoms are driving the people around her away. Instead of seeing her actions as a cry for help or the result of a traumatic incident, Melinda's classmates are disgusted and mock or ignore her.
Another huge effect is how withdrawn she becomes from the world around her. She makes no effort to reconnect with her friends and explain herself or to find new friends - Heather and her only begin hanging out due to Heather's ambitions of popularity and fear of being alone. Instead of going to class, Melinda hides in her closet, or skips school altogether. As the principal says in the parent meeting on page 114, Melinda was a friendly, bright student in middle school, so these behaviors are clearly new and out of character for her. Yet the adults in her life react with anger rather than concern, confirming Melinda's belief that no one cares enough to hear the truth about the rape.
Melinda also experiences a number of unhealthy behaviors and signs of depression. These are more subtle; Melinda casually mentions them in her narration of the story and they are easy to miss. Added up, however, they show a serious problem. One of these signs of depression is her sleeping habits. Melinda mentions several times her difficulty sleeping, or staying asleep. There are some excellent quotes that showcase this in another answer. Both depression and PTSD (of which depression is a symptom) affect people's sleep habits, and Melinda is no exception.Another sign is her eating. She mentions a few times eating more than is normal for a 14 or 15-year-old girl. One example is when she goes to buy jelly doughnuts. Rather than getting one as a treat, she gets several. This might seem like no big deal, but later in the story, she mentions outgrowing her clothes and having to buy new jeans with her mother. A careful reader can see and infer that Melinda is overeating from the stress caused by her attack.
Finally, the symptom that gives new readers the clues they need to figure out Melinda was raped - her flashbacks. Again, a previous answer gave an excellent description of Melinda's most prominent flashback to her rape, while dissecting frogs in biology class. However, it's also important to consider when Melinda flashes back to recall the night of the rape in detail - right after declining an invitation to a pizza party given by David Petrakis. Melinda likes David. She's angry she can't feel safe enough to go to the party. But she also knows that because of Andy's rape, she will be living in this state of fear for a long time. That's why a simple invitation to a group pizza party from a nerdy boy in her biology class fills her with fear. A clear symptom of her PTSD.
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