Aye, David...

I have ADD (moderate, but highly annoying) and only got diagnosed after I'd (barely) finished college.

I've read a fair amount on the subject-- Drs Hallowell and Ratey, I believe, are some of the best writers on Adult (and child) ADD-- and I have come to see that this difference in brain wiring can, if well-managed, become just as much a gift as a liability.

My mind tends to do a lot of leaping--I suspect that messages try to make their way through the "usual" channels but can't do so efficiently, so the nervous impulses do a hop, skip & jump to get around by alternate routes. This means I can be tremendously creative, though not always on anyone's preferred schedule!

Finding a blend of medical and non-medical approaches and coping mechanisms can make a huge difference. I take some medication on an as-needed basis and employ a lot of non-medical tactics like "The Ohio Method." (OHIO is an acronymn for "Only Handle It Once," meaning that you should try to not put a project down until you've accomplished what needs to be done with it. An example: when you bring in the mail and see a bill, carry that bill right over to the desk, write out the payment slip and the check, get out the stamp and envelope, put them in the payment envelope, and put the payment into the mailbox instead of setting the bill in that gargantuan stack of things "to be dealt with later.")