DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview with a semistructured format that was developed to enhance ADHD assessment for adults. This study will evaluate the criterion valid of DIVA 2.0 as well as its validity in conjunction 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.
Symptoms
ADD/ADHD symptoms impact all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career advancement and the daily tasks we do. That's why it is so crucial that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach and look at how the symptoms affect all aspects of our lives. Dr. Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview that is designed to assess the primary symptoms of ADD/ADHD as well as how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an interview instrument designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have sound sensitivity and specificity. It is highly effective at identifying those who have the disorder. It is able to raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic test available in the country.
To conduct the DIVA the trained clinician typically a psychiatrist or psychologist - will inquire about the primary symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperactivity, and the tendency to be impulsive. The psychologist will also analyze the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and the impact on their present behavior. The symptoms of ADHD are not sudden. They appear over a long period of time from childhood through teen years and into adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify people suffering from ADHD, as it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD during childhood and into adulthood and how the symptoms have impacted the person's daily functioning in five different areas of life - education work, family/partner relationships, family and leisure time/social activities, and self-esteem and confidence in oneself. Contrary to this, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief, which was compared to the CAADID and showed low sensitivity and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to evaluate the symptoms as well as their history. This can be accomplished through conducting a thorough interview about childhood symptoms as well as a neurocognitive assessment. It is crucial to think about the impact these symptoms have on the person's work and life. This can be evaluated conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in certain cases, asking for information from relatives and friends.
The DIVA is an interview that is semi-structured and was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised for use in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the criteria valid of the Korean version (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample consisting of patients with ADHD.
During the DIVA the clinician will ask about ADHD symptoms in the early years of life and into adulthood. They will also ask the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the extent of impairment caused by these symptoms. The doctor will also collect various sociodemographic data and inquire about any psychiatric co-morbidities.
Patients were assessed for psychiatric co-morbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Two psychiatrists with experience used the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 in order to establish a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms in adulthood as well as childhood and determined the length 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 has good concurrent validity when compared to the WURS scale, and fair validity when compared to three self-report ratings instruments which include the ASRS (self-report rating), FAB (self-report rating) 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 similar to that of a clinical diagnosis established by two expert psychiatrists. diva assessment for adhd was in accordance with the specificity and sensitivity of earlier screening tools like the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you're not aware of ADHD, it can significantly affect your life. This can affect your relationships, academic progress, and work. It can also impact how you organize your day-to-day activities. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as provide treatments that can improve your symptoms and coping mechanisms.
A licensed professional (typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist) will conduct an organized conversation with you using the DIVA-5 instrument to assess your current symptoms. This will involve standardised questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to get a full picture of your symptoms and their impacts on your life.
This method is essential for ensuring a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also helps us determine the root of your symptoms, which will help guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD and has excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been demonstrated to be valid as a criterion when compared with self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good consistency with these scales and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
Contrary to the more conventional methods for assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA test focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that can be observed in the teen years and into adulthood, increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling an accurate comparison between the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to prescribe treatment, it might be necessary to make an appointment with a pediatrician or Psychiatrist for further assessment and/or therapy. You may be referred to psychologists who specialize in more in-depth assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring or different diagnoses. This includes assessing co-occurring conditions, like anxiety or 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 thorough evaluation requires the expertise of qualified medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a structured and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across different life stages. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist of behavior and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions which may have similar symptoms for adults, such as depression or anxiety.
In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician uses a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician assesses the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect an person in various settings. This information can be used to make an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity when compared with the WURS-brief, CAA-DID and an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has a high degree of validity when conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily function that include education and work relationships home and family social interactions, leisure time and hobbies.
To be able to conduct a valid DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated as well as their family and friends need to be present. This helps build trust and strengthen the therapeutic bond, which will be essential to the success of your evaluation.
A qualified psychiatrist or psychologist who is certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed report. This report will present the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based on evidence.
If you suspect that you or a loved one may be suffering from ADHD, please contact us for an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a comprehensive evaluation. She will refer you to a specialist who will formulate an appropriate treatment strategy. Please be aware that the treatment plan recommended is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.