I too cried when diagnosed at age 53. But for a different reason. For the first time in my whole life I finally came to understand as one book title says "I Am Not Lazy, Crazy, or Stupid"!! I knew as far back 9th/10th grade, that I was very different from other kids. What they seemed to do with great ease was like "Mission Impossible" for me. I barely graduated from high school. The main reasons being (1) I found many classes so boring that I just skipped them and after a while I skipped whole days (70 alone in my senior year and (2) when I got home and tried to do my homework I had the same difficulty focusing my attention on it as I did in school, I would berate and scold myself but still I just couldn't focus on the task. I wanted to do ANYTHING but homework. I became a world class procrastinator. I had a thousand excuses for not turning my work in and teachers rolled their eyes so much I thought they would pop out of their heads. (3) I would gaze out windows and daydream or sit at my desk and draw pictures or pass notes to my friends (especially pretty girls). But on the other hand, some classes like algebra, geometry, trig, science, drafting, and things I liked or was good at, I usually got A's. Through my entire school life I always scored high on acheivement tests and was put in classes with the brightest kids. Move forward 20 years later and I am in college and for some reason I got perfect grades in every class and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. The difference in my new success was I learned how to focus, how to use Hyperfocus, one of the many blessings that ADDers have that normal people don't. So the moral of this a story is, ADD can be a curse if you let it, or it can be your greatest asset. 17 years after I graduated with a BA degree, I had risen through the ranks of Lockheed martins engineering grades 1 through 6, to become chief test engineer on the newest Presidential Helicopter after serving 22 years in the Air Force as well. So cheer up my friend, find out about ADD, learn not just to live with it, but how harness it and make it work for you. Albert Einstein had ADD. Most people who have it are well above average in intelligence. These are things to be proud of, not be ashamed of. So go forth and make your mark in the world and I wish you the very best. And be very careful what you wish for, because if your hyperfocus locks in on it, oh baby, look out!! cause you rare very likely to get it. Be kind to yourself child, you are one of God's greatest creations.
Paul

Your friend, Paul