DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semistructured interview developed to enhance ADHD assessment in adults. This study is designed to assess the validity of the criterion used in DIVA 2.0 and its validity in conjunction 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
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives, from relationships to career advancement and the everyday tasks we have to perform. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments are holistic, looking at how symptoms affect all aspects of life. In your assessment, Dr. Schilling will begin by obtaining details of your symptoms and health history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, structured interview that evaluates both the core symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.
The DIVA is an interview tool designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been proven to be extremely sensitive and precise. It is extremely effective in identifying those suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
assess adhd qualified clinician, typically psychiatrists will inquire about the core symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and the tendency to be impulsive. The doctor will also dig into the individual's history by looking at their early experiences and how those may have affected their current behaviours. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They develop over a period of time, from childhood to teen years and then into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD due to its consideration of both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in the early years and later in adulthood and how these signs affect the individual's daily functioning across five areas - education, employment relations with family/partners social activities/leisure, as well as confidence and self-esteem. As a contrast, other screening tools like the WURS-brief which was compared to the CAADID which showed poor sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
In order to determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is crucial to assess the symptoms and their causes. This can be done with a comprehensive interview on childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurological. It is also essential to consider the effects of the symptoms on the individual's life and work. This can be assessed by using a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some instances, obtaining information from family and friends.
The DIVA is a semi-structured interview that was initially developed to be used with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised for use with adult patients in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the validity of the criterion used to determine the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample of adults with ADHD.
During the DIVA The clinician will inquire about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and into adulthood, the age at which symptoms first manifest, as well as the severity of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The clinician also collects a diverse set of sociodemographic data and asks about any psychiatric co-morbidity.
MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI) and the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to determine if a psychiatric co-morbidity existed. Two psychiatrists with experience employed the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 in order to establish a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms throughout adulthood and childhood, and determined the duration of 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 shown to have good concurrent validity 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 diagnostic accuracy of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a diagnosis formulated by two renowned psychiatrists. adhd assessment was in line with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools, like ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your life. It can affect many areas, from relationships, academic and work progress to the simple task of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help identify your strengths and weaknesses and provide treatment options to alleviate your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A licensed psychologist (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will have a structured conversation with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to evaluate your current symptoms. This will include asking standard questions about your levels inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also dig into your personal history and your childhood experiences to create a complete picture of your symptoms.
This approach is essential for a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. This will help us better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to determine adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also been demonstrated to be reliable in determining the validity of criterion when compared with self-report rating scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity with these scales, and fair validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to traditional methods for measuring ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying the symptoms that manifest in the teen years and in adulthood. This improves the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more precise comparison of sociodemographic characteristics between the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to consider the effects of co-occurring conditions on the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot prescribe medication, you might need to make an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a paediatrician for a more thorough evaluation and/or treatment. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further thorough evaluation of your symptoms, and to assess for differential or co-occurring diagnoses. This includes assessing for co-occurring conditions such as anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
Getting diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life providing explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of experienced healthcare experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and comprehensive tool, helps improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms at different life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior that are persistent and helps distinguish between ADHD symptoms and other conditions like anxiety or depression.
In the course of a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a clinician will use an organized interview to ask a series of questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. The doctor evaluates the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms in order to understand how they impact the person's life and performance in several environments. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been verified against other diagnostic tools and exhibits high sensitivity when compared to the WURS-brief, CAA-DID and a psychiatrist's assessment. It also has high accuracy when measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, family and home social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
A valid DIVA assessment requires the participation of the person being evaluated and their close family members and friends. This will help establish trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which is crucial to the success of your evaluation.
A skilled psychiatrist or psychologist who is skilled in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment will be able to give a thorough report. The report will detail the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you know might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and is able to provide an assessment. She will then make a referral to a specialist to create an effective treatment plan. Be aware that a combination of medication and psychotherapy is the recommended treatment.