As a person with ADD, who is planning on going in to a tech career, I can see both the advantages and disadvantages of the disorder.
I definitely find that I have an ability to hyper focus on the things I am interested in. This will definitely be an advantage for me when I go on to college, because I will hyper focus on the classes that I love (the engineering ones), and be able to learn the subject deeply. I find that I am much better at taking a few classes at a time (and being able to focus all of my energy on them), rather than taking a whole bunch at once (where managing the time I spend on each subject becomes more difficult).
However, I imagine that my difficulties with time management will still end up causing me trouble when it comes to playing the "school game" - namely, keeping up with the academic demands of my education. This has always been a problem for me. I choose to hyper focus on the activities that interest me, and lose track of how to balance my time between doing the things that I love, and doing the things that are required of me.
For example, right now, I am writing this post on Chief Delphi (something which I love to do), instead of doing my homework. I am also feeling the temptation to do other projects, such as work on NERD, work on our team's new scouting sheet, start planning for my summer robotics programs, as well as things I do for pleasure such as read or talk to my friends. I have a hard time recognizing the fact that by writing this post, I am using up valuable time to get my work done. In fact, making this post is sort of paradoxical, because I know that I shouldn't be doing it, but I am anyways, and I am recognizing the fact that I have problems managing my time, but I am doing it anyways....
So yes, I agree that the ability to hyper focus may eventually come in handy for college in terms of helping me delve deeply into the subjects which I am interested in. However, I know that it will still continue to prevent me from being able to manage my time. At this time of year, my grades always drop because I am focused on so many other things (robotics). In fact, right now I am failing a few classes, and with the marking period coming to an end in a few weeks, I really need to get going on making up the work. It would be a real shame if I couldn't graduate...
It is interesting to see how many great scientists throughout history have been known to have ADD. In particular, I look up to Einstein as a model of someone who was able to overcome failing grades because of ADD, to go on to be one of the most renowned physicists in history. I do believe that our ability to percieve many things at once, and to perhaps notice things that people might not otherwise notice, enhances our ability to be creative.
Having ADD does not mean that you don't pay attention to anything, or that you don't notice anything. In fact, ADD is characterized by the brain telling you to notice EVERYTHING at once, therefore making it appear as if you aren't focusing on the most important topic at hand. However, because your brain is telling you to notice EVERYTHING, you tend to zone out on the things you are most interested in. For me, in a classroom setting, it could be me zoning out during AP Calc so I could think about my social life. Or, it could be me zoning out during English class so I can stare out the window at a passing cloud.
But, when I am intent on finishing a project, and highly interested in what I am doing, I can shift my attention from the surrounding world, and focus intensely on that project. I see this characteristic as an integral part of my personality. In fact, I think this is one of the reasons why I have grown so much through my robotics team. When I develop a passion for something, I hyperfocus on it, and I study it and become involved in it very deeply.
As a child, I remember going through different interest phases. When I was two, it was learning the names of all the plants in my garden. When I was five, it was learning to identify all of the different kinds of butterflys. When I was seven, it was all about studying geology and how volcanoes work. When I was ten, it was all about studying meteorology and all of the different kinds of clouds. This pattern of "interest phases" has continued into today, where my current interest is robotics, engineering, and science. I am positive that this learning style will be of benefit to me in the future.
-- Jaine