[adambard]

The essay [1] from which the hairdryer anecdote is quoted has the thesis that categories (in general) are instrumental, and don't have much value separated from their context.

ADHD is a category of psychiatric diagnosis; psychiatric diagnoses exist to address deficiencies in function. Separating the one from the other, as you perceive, renders it meaningless -- or perhaps, useless. If one happens to have some of the traits of ADHD but it doesn't affect their life negatively, so what?

[1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-ma...