Well, you don't necessarily have to tell your mother just yet, you are 19. However, you're also on her insurance, I'm sure, so she will find out about it.

So you could put it this way: You're having a lot of trouble focusing and getting your work done. You're not sure what to do. It's affecting your studies, and you don't want to fail out of college. You want to see a psychiatrist to get evaluated, and take it from there. Don't mention meds. Parents don't like it when you throw it all at them at once. They need to take baby steps with understanding, too.

Or, you could just go to see the psychiatrist and get evaluated, and get the prescription, and: "Mom, I have something to tell you." While she's expecting you to say you've done something way worse, you tell her you have ADD, and she's relieved. Problem solved.

But you should probably go with the former.