DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview with a semistructured format that was developed to enhance ADHD assessment in adults. This study will evaluate the criterion validity of DIVA 2.0 and its concomitant validity in comparison with Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID) criteria.
Compared to the top 20 attributes, DIVA attributes that correlate strongest with diagnosis are attention deficit for both childhood and adulthood and hyperactivity/impulsivity for adults, followed by CAARS ADHD TT1 score and IOWA personality disorders evaluation.
Symptoms
Symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every area of life, from relationships and career advancement to the day-to-day tasks that make up our lives. This is why it's crucial that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach by examining how symptoms affect every aspect of life. Dr. Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct a DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, structured interview that examines both the primary symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.
The DIVA is an interview tool for diagnosing ADHD. It was developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to assess adult ADHD symptoms. It has been demonstrated to be extremely sensitive and specific. It is also extremely efficient in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It has the potential to increase awareness of, and the diagnosis of, adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic test for adults with ADHD available in the country.
In order to conduct the DIVA A trained professional typically psychologist or psychiatrist will ask questions about the main symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician will also delve into the person's past and examine their childhood experiences and how they could have influenced their behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear in a flash, they manifest throughout the teen years, and even into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD due to its consideration of both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria during childhood and into adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the person's daily functioning in five distinct areas - education, employment relations with family/partners and leisure/social activities, as well as confidence in oneself. Other screening tools, like the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID demonstrated low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
get an adhd assessment
To diagnose ADHD in adults it is important that you evaluate the symptoms as well as their background. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of the neurological. It is important to consider the impact that the symptoms have on the individual's work and life. This can be evaluated through a structured medical interview, the DIVA, and in some instances, getting information from family members and friends.
The DIVA is a semi-structured interview that was first developed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used by adults in other countries, including Korea. This study examined the criterion validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.
During the DIVA the clinician will ask about ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood. They will also inquire about the age of onset of symptoms and the extent of impairment caused by these symptoms. The clinician will also gather different sociodemographic information and ask about any psychiatric co-morbidities.
Patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 as well as the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was established by two psychiatrists with experience who utilized the DIVA-5 structured diagnostic interview to determine the severity of symptoms in the early years and in childhood, and determine the duration of those symptoms.
The sensitivity and specificity of DIVA-5 was found to be high for both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood and adulthood. This diagnostic tool was found to have good compatibility with the WURS scale and fair concurrent validity with three self-report ratings instruments: the ASRS, FAB, and Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The sensitivity and specificity of the DIVA-5 was found to be high for all subtypes of ADHD in both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in adulthood and during childhood. The accuracy of diagnosis of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable with that of a clinical diagnosis established by two expert psychiatrists. This was in line with the specificity and sensitivity of previous screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you're not aware of ADHD it can greatly affect your life. This can affect your relationships, academic performance and work. It can also impact the way you organize your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses as well as provide treatments that can help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct a structured discussion with you about your symptoms currently using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will involve asking standardised questions about your levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It will also delve into your personal history, including childhood experiences, in order to gain a complete understanding of your symptoms and their impacts on your life.
This approach is crucial for ensuring a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to understand the root causes of your symptoms, which will help guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to identify adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also been proven to be a good criterion-validated test when compared with self-report scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these scales and has good validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
Unlike the more traditional methods for assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that are present in both the teen years and into adulthood, increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing an easier comparison of sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the effects of coexisting disorders on manifestation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to recommend medication, it may be necessary to make an appointment with a pediatrician or Psychiatrist for a further assessment and/or therapy. You may be referred to a specialist psychologist for a thorough assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing comorbid conditions, such as anxiety or depression. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can transform your life. It can provide answers to persistent problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. However, a thorough evaluation requires the expertise of experienced healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized and extensive tool that assists to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by evaluating symptoms across different life stages. It also identifies patterns of behavior that are persistent and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other disorders like depression or anxiety.
In a DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask several questions regarding symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The doctor evaluates the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms in order to understand how they impact the individual's life and how they function in several settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been verified against other diagnostic tools and shows high sensitivity when compared to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has a high degree of accuracy when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships with family and home; social contacts; and free time and hobbies.
For a valid DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated, their family and friends need to be present. This will help build trust and a therapeutic bond that is essential to the success of the evaluation.
A qualified psychologist or psychiatrist who has been skilled in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed report. The report will detail the results of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based upon evidence.
If you think you or someone you love might be suffering from ADHD Contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to give a thorough assessment. She can refer you to a specialist who will formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Be aware that the recommended treatment approach is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.