Sounds like ADD.. I have it. Even at 43 remembering things or concentrating on what you need to do without an outside stimulant is difficult. For me it was mt dew
/ heavy caffeine.. at some point my mind would stop wandering and I would be able to focus. People think that ADD is imaginary but I can tell you that it is very real. I'm the text book case, fall asleep in school, forget assignments or wait until 2:00 am the night before they are due to finish them.
One other thought on this. Two of the kids were ADD and ADHD. The med's worked but for one boy there came a time when he grew out of it. Some do and some do not. The thing we noticed when the one boy grew out of it was that the drugs started working like they would on normal people. Instead of slowing him down it sped him up.

Of course the doc was like "what makes you so sure?" well, when you give them speed and they go hyper then the intended effect has been lost....