I was talking to a (non-programmer) coworker who has ADHD recently, and she was saying that in order to concentrate she has to have music playing. I asked if that included while doing something that actually requires thinking and focusing like writing an essay and she confirmed that to be the case. She said she'll be singing along to rap music while writing.

I thought that was wild cause I'm so the opposite. Music I listen to while working has to not take my attention away at all, so most stuff with lyrics is off the table, as well as instrumental music that I'm enjoying too much.

My friend's wife has ADHD and she's the same as my coworker. I always thought people were lying about their ability to multitask (I can't even pretend I'm able to do it), but sometimes we'll be watching a TV show and she's scrolling Facebook on her phone, but I'll comment on something happening in the show and she's able to reply with full context of what's been happening. If I want to focus on a TV show/movie, I basically have to throw my phone across the room cause if I start paying attention to it at all, I will miss 100% of what's happening on the screen. I'm also pretty bad at maintaining conversation while driving, unless it's a route I'm very familiar with.