DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview that has been developed to enhance ADHD assessments for adults. This study is aimed at assessing the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 as well as its concomitant validity with Conners Adult ADHD Diagnosis Interview for DSM-IV 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.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives, from relationships to career advancement, and the daily tasks we perform. It is essential that our ADHD assessment takes a comprehensive perspective, looking at how symptoms affect all aspects of life. Dr. Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to evaluate the primary symptoms of ADD/ADHD and how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an instrument for diagnostic interviews developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to determine adult ADHD symptoms. It has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive and specific. It is extremely effective in identifying those who have the disorder. It can help raise awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic test available in the country.
To perform the DIVA, a trained clinician - often psychologists or psychiatrists will ask questions about the core symptoms of ADHD which include hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The clinician will also analyze the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and the impact on their current behaviours. This is because the symptoms of ADHD don't just emerge in a flash, they manifest throughout one's childhood, teen years, and into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD due to its consideration of both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in childhood and in adulthood and how these signs have affected the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas - employment, education relations with family/partners social activities/leisure, as well as self-esteem/confidence. As a contrast other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID which showed poor sensitivity and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
In order to determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is essential to assess the symptoms and their causes. This can be done by a comprehensive interview about childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurocognitive. It is important to consider the impact that the symptoms have on the individual's work and daily life. This can be determined using a structured clinical interview, called the DIVA and, in some cases, obtaining information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is an interview that is semi-structured and was initially developed to be used with adults in the Netherlands. It has been re-edited to be used in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample of adults with ADHD.
During the DIVA the doctor asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, as well as the age at which the symptoms onset, and the severity of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor will also collect 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 diagnosis of clinical ADHD was determined by two psychiatrists with experience who utilized the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to evaluate symptoms in both childhood and adulthood, and to determine the duration of these symptoms.
The sensitivity and specificity of DIVA-5 was found to be high for both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood and adulthood. The diagnostic tool was demonstrated to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale as well as 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 diagnosing ADHD with the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in line with the specificity and sensitivity of earlier 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 affect the way you organize your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and cope mechanisms.
A trained clinician (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will have a structured discussion with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to assess your current symptoms. This will consist of regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and an impulsiveness. It will also look into your personal history and your childhood experiences to create an accurate picture of your symptoms.
This method is crucial to a complete adult ADHD diagnosis. It also allows us to understand the root causes of your symptoms, which can help determine the best treatment for you.
The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD and has high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been demonstrated to be reliable in determining the validity of criterion, when compared to self-report rating scales such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has a good concordance with these scales and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
In contrast to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment is focused on identifying and discussing the symptoms that occur both during the teen years and into adulthood, increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing for an accurate comparison between sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also offers an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to recommend medication, it may be necessary to schedule an appointment with a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. You can be referred to an expert psychologist for a thorough assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist to suggest the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
Being diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life providing explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. A successful evaluation requires the expertise of trained healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized and comprehensive tool that helps to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across different life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that may present similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In the course of a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a practitioner will conduct an organized interview to ask a series of questions about the symptoms like hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. free adhd assessment uk Iampsychiatry , frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect an person in various situations. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA test is confirmed in comparison to other diagnostic tools. It has a high sensitivity when compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs, and psychiatrist's assessments. It also has a high degree of validity when it comes to assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, family and home social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
To be able to conduct an authentic DIVA assessment, the individual being assessed and their family and friends must be present. This helps build trust and a strong therapeutic connection, which is essential to the success of your assessment.
A psychiatrist or psychologist with experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can give a detailed, professional report. This report will present the findings of the test and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
If you think you or a loved one might have ADHD, please contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to give a thorough assessment. She will refer you to an expert who will create a treatment strategy. Be aware that the treatment plan recommended is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.