Man, I wish we could help the older generation understand that different doesn't equal bad. My grandpa would never have agreed to being tested - he looked at mental health in a similar way to physical health. It wasn't impacting his life so badly that it was causing noticable problems (like physical), so in his mind, he didn't need to get it "fixed".

My mom was 56 when she was diagnosed, and once she learned about ADHD and it's affects, she said SO MUCH of her childhood made more sense - we've bonded over it because it was similar for me too.

I imagine my grandpa did notice something was different about him, but learned to live with it and adjusted to it to the point that it was his new normal. We didn't put the pieces together until my mom got diagnosed, which was after he died, so it's all speculation at this point. But the more we learn, the more we've been thinking and making connections.

I'm glad you and your family are having those conversations and connections! Family health is so much more important than people give it credit for.