DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview designed to improve ADHD assessments for adults. This study aims to evaluate the validity of the criterion used in 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
ADD/ADHD symptoms affect all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career advancement, and the daily tasks we do. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments are holistic by examining how symptoms affect all aspects of our lives. Dr Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct an DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, interview that examines both the primary symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.
The DIVA is a diagnostic interview tool developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to assess adult ADHD symptoms. It has been found to be highly sensitive and precise. It is also highly effective in identifying those with the disorder. It can help raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
A trained and experienced clinician, typically a psychiatrist, will ask questions to determine the core symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsive nature. The clinician will also look at the background of the person and their childhood experiences as well as their impact on their present behavior. The symptoms of ADHD don't appear in a flash. They appear over a long period of time, from childhood to teen years and adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify people suffering from ADHD because it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas of life: education work, family/partner relationships, family social activities/leisure time and self-esteem and self-confidence. In comparison, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief, which was compared to the CAADID which showed poor sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is crucial to determine the severity of the symptoms and their history. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurological. It is also crucial to look at the effects of the symptoms on the person's work and life. This can be evaluated using a structured clinical interview, also known as the DIVA and, in certain instances, getting information from friends and family members.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured, structured interview that was originally developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been redesigned to be used with adult patients in other countries, including Korea. The study examined the criterion that is valid for the Korean version (DIVA-5) in the clinical sample of adults with ADHD.
During the DIVA The clinician will inquire about the presence of ADHD symptoms in childhood and into adulthood, the age at which symptoms first manifest, as well as the extent of impairment resulting from these symptoms. The doctor will also collect a variety of sociodemographic information and inquire about any psychiatric co-morbidity.
The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), along with the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to detect psychiatric co-morbidity. A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was established by two psychiatrists with years of experience who used the DIVA-5 structured diagnostic interview to evaluate symptoms in both adulthood and 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 rating instruments: 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 the DIVA-5's diagnosis was found to be similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis that were made by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the specificity and sensitivity of earlier screening tools like the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you have an undiagnosed ADHD it could significantly affect your life. It can impact your relationships, academic progress, and work. It can also impact how you organize your daily life. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide solutions to help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct an in-depth interview with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will involve regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences to create the full picture of your symptoms.
This approach is crucial to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to determine the root of your symptoms, which will help inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is an extremely efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity when compared with self-report rating scales such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these scales and has reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to more traditional methods of assessing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying the symptoms that manifest in childhood and into adulthood. This improves the accuracy of diagnoses and allows a more accurate comparison of sociodemographic characteristics between the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the effects of coexisting disorders on the presentation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to recommend treatment, it might be necessary to set up an appointment with a Pediatrician or Psychiatrist for further assessment and/or therapy. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further in-depth analysis of your symptoms and to assess for co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing for co-occurring disorders like anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It offers solutions to persistent problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. A thorough evaluation requires the expertise of trained healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by evaluating symptoms across different life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior that remain and aids in distinguishing between ADHD symptoms and other conditions like depression or anxiety.
In the DIVA ADHD assessment, a doctor conducts an interview to ask several questions regarding symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect an individual in different settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has excellent accuracy when it comes to assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships with family and home social contact; free time and leisure.
For a valid DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated, their family and friends need to be present. This will help to build trust and a therapeutic bond which is important to the success of the evaluation.
A psychologist or psychiatrist who has experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide an in-depth, professional report. This report will outline the findings of the test and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
If adhd assessment uk think you or someone you love might have ADHD, please contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an assessment. She can refer you to a specialist who will formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Please be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.