DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview that was developed to improve ADHD assessments in adults. This study will 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.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives including relationships and career progression to the day-to-day tasks that make up our lives. It is crucial that our ADHD assessment takes a holistic view, examining how symptoms impact every aspect of life. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by obtaining information about your symptoms and health history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured interview that evaluates both the core symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD on your life.
The DIVA is a diagnostic interview tool created by psychologists and psychiatrists to evaluate adult ADHD symptoms. It has been proven 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 and the diagnosis of adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic test for adults suffering from ADHD available in the country.
A trained and experienced clinician, typically a psychiatrist, will inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and the tendency to be impulsive. The psychologist will also look into the person's past, looking at their childhood experiences and how they could have influenced their 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 then into adulthood.
The DIVA can detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in childhood and in adulthood and how these signs affect the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas - employment, education and family/partner relationships and leisure/social activities, as well as confidence and self-esteem. Contrary to this, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief which was compared to the CAADID and showed low sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of ADHD in adults it is crucial to assess the symptoms as well as their history. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms and a neurological examination. how do i get an adhd assessment is essential to take into consideration the impact that these symptoms have on the person's work and life. This can be evaluated by conducting a structured interview, called the DIVA and, in certain instances, asking for information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is an interview that is semi-structured and was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been updated to be used with adult patients in other countries, including Korea. This study evaluated the validity of the criterion used to determine the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample of adult patients with ADHD.
During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, the time at which the symptoms begin to manifest, and the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor also collects a diverse set of sociodemographic data and inquires about any psychiatric or comorbidity.
The MINI-S as well as Version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), along with the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to screen for psychiatric co-morbidity. A diagnosis of clinical ADHD was established by two psychiatrists with years of experience who used the DIVA-5, a 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 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 the DIVA-5's diagnostics was found to be comparable to the accuracy of clinical diagnoses made by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools such ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you're not aware of ADHD, it can significantly impact your life. It can affect many areas from your relationships, academic and work progress to the basic tasks of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and coping mechanism.
A licensed psychologist (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will have a structured discussion with you, using the DIVA-5 instrument to assess your current symptoms. This will involve regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. It will also dig into your personal history and your childhood experiences to create the full picture of the symptoms you are experiencing.
This approach is crucial to ensure a complete diagnosis of adult ADHD. This will help us better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is an extremely effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD, with high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity when compared to 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 has fair validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
In contrast to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA evaluation is focused on identifying and discussing the symptoms that are present in both childhood and in adulthood, thus increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing for an easier comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups. The DIVA assessment can also be used to assess the effects of co-existing disorders on the manifestation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist does not recommend medication, you may require an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further assessment and/or treatment. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further thorough evaluation of your symptoms, and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid conditions, such as depression or anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
Being diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life providing explanations for long-standing problems and opening the door to effective treatment options. A good evaluation does require the expertise of trained healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and comprehensive tool, can help improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms at different life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior and differentiates between ADHD symptoms and those of other disorders that may present similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician uses a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms to determine how they impact the person's life and performance in various environments. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
how to get a adhd assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity when compared to the WURS-brief, CAA-DID and the assessment of a psychiatrist. It also has a high degree of validity when conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily functioning that include education and work relationships home and family, social contacts, and leisure time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires participation from the person being assessed as well as their closest family members and friends. This will help establish trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which will be essential to the success of your evaluation.
An experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment will be able to give a thorough report. This report will present the results of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
If you suspect that you or someone you love might have ADHD Contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an evaluation. She will refer you to an expert who will create a treatment strategy. Be aware that the recommended treatment method is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.