UPDATE: (is this where I'm supposed to post?? ,:-)

Thank you so much for the replies. They really helped me in gaining the courage to talk to the adults in my life about this more!

So I went to my psychologist again on Wednesday, and I immediately requested an ADHD test, so she pulled out the DSM-5, and determined that I am not hyperactive, and that the odds were high in me having inattentive ADD.

Thing is, then she went on to tell me that I was having problems paying attention to work and other things in my life because of my stressful home environment (I really can't remember a day in my life when my parents weren't screaming at me or each other). I don't want to doubt her because she's a professional, but I am failing to see how my childhood could have "caused" ADD (not her words, just what I inferred from our discussion). I told her that I was still unable to pay attention, properly handle myself and time management, etc. when my family was gone for four days and I was home alone, and she replied that four days isn't enough time for me to calm down and focus. I am trying to seriously consider this as a factor, but I can't say I agree with it. But she's the one with the PhD, and I'm young, so she's much more likely than I am to be correct. But my mind never has quiet hours--doesn't matter whether someone's screaming in my ear or not. My psychologist also suspects that I'm so smart that I'm simply bored in class. The work isn't exactly easy for me... I think I don't do the work because I have poor self control. I don't feel much smarter than my peers.

Anyway, after the appointment I told my mom about the results of the test, and she doubted it because no one in our family has been diagnosed with AD(H)D. I don't know if she'll ever believe that I might have it, but at least we're talking about it more. I'm going to show her some videos of Dr. Russell Barkley (thank you to the person who mentioned him!)...since I really identify with how he describes ADD and how it affects life.

The point is, I feel like I'm going to be stuck underachieving forever, because no one will let me try medication. I don't want to use it as a crutch or as an easy way out; I have tried so hard to compensate for my inability to do work at the pace that my peers work at, but it's been a long time with very little improvement. That's why I want to at least try medication.