It's absolutely a disorder. I was diagnosed as an adult and wish I was as a kid, but it wasn't done much in the 80's. I take adderall and it has been a life saver for me.

I will agree here that maybe not everyone needs it. I don't think everyone needs to fit the same notion as "normal" and there should be acceptance for people who simply do things differently. But I also don't think we should use the term acceptance and diversity to excuse away deficits that keep people from living to their full potential. Everyone has challenges, some bigger than others. Some people need more help than others or just different types of help. I think how you feel about yourself, your relationships and your life is a big indicator as to whether it's a disorder or not. I have a good friend also with ADHD, but she is hyperactive, where I am the "inattentive type". She had trouble focusing in school like me, but her lack of focus was very different. I was a daydreamer, quiet and shy. Not very motivated. When I was active, I got more focused. But getting the motivation to be active was very hard. My friend on the other hand was always moving. She couldn't stop and was disruptive and chatty. But her hyperactivity helped her keep motivated to move. In fact she became a runner and that changed everything. She said it gave her motivation and discipline she just never would have found without it. Over the years she developed her own ways of keeping herself organized and focused. She actually finished her masters with honors and I was amazed since in high school and college academics were not her thing. But, for her it was the social distractions and hyper nature that needed to be controlled, and athletics were key in that. So I guess in her case, running is pretty much her medication (I'm not talking about a jog but serious, 5 miles a day a few days a week running). She is still more energetic and hyper than most people I've met, but is very high functioning. Therapy probably would have been very useful along with the running but at that time it wasn't as common as it is now. So for everyone it's different

But for underactive, under attentive people, I think the meds might be a bit more necessary. Not always, but I think the low motivation aspect makes it that much harder to accomplish anything. It's also easier to go unnoticed, so there's not much encouragement to get help or recognition of the need.