DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview with a semistructured format that was developed to enhance ADHD assessment in adults. This study will evaluate the criterion valid of DIVA 2.0 and its concurrent validity compared to 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
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives from relationships to advancement in our careers and the daily tasks we do. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments are holistic, looking at how symptoms affect every aspect of our lives. Dr. Schilling will begin by evaluating your symptoms and medical history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to evaluate the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD as well as how they have affected your life.
The DIVA is an interview instrument designed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to evaluate the symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been shown to have high sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is also extremely effective in identifying individuals suffering from the disorder. It has the potential to raise awareness of, and the diagnosis of the condition of adult ADHD in Korea, as it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic interview for adults suffering from ADHD available in the country.
In order to conduct the DIVA, a trained clinician - often a psychiatrist or psychologist - will ask questions about the main symptoms of ADHD which include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The psychologist will also examine the history of the individual and their childhood experiences as well as their impact on their current behaviours. The symptoms of ADHD don't appear in a flash. They develop over a time from childhood through teen years and then into adulthood.
The DIVA can 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 have affected the person's daily functioning in five distinct areas - education, employment, family/partner relationships, social activities/leisure, and confidence and self-esteem. As a contrast, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID, showed poor accuracy and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
In order to diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important to evaluate the symptoms and their history. This can be done through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of the neurocognitive. It is important to consider the impact that these symptoms can have on a person's work and life. This can be evaluated using a structured interview, the DIVA and, in certain cases, getting information from family 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 refined for use in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.
During the DIVA The clinician will inquire about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, the age at which the symptoms first manifest, as well as the severity of impairment resulting from these symptoms. The doctor will also collect different sociodemographic information and ask about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.
The MINI-S and Version 5.0.0 The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to detect psychiatric co-morbidity. A diagnosis of clinical ADHD was made by two experienced psychiatrists who used the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to determine the severity of symptoms in 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. This diagnostic tool was shown to have good concordance 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 diagnosis was found to be similar to the accuracy of clinical diagnoses that were made by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools, like ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you are not diagnosed with ADHD it can greatly impact your life. It can impact your relationships, academic progress, and work. It can also impact the way you organize your daily life. A diagnosis can help identify your strengths and weaknesses and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A trained clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct a structured interview with you about your symptoms currently using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will consist of regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also examine your personal history including childhood experiences to give you the full picture of your symptoms.
This approach is crucial for ensuring a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to understand the root causes of your symptoms, which helps inform your treatment.
how do you get assessed for adhd can be used to identify adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also shown to have good criterion valid when compared to self-report scales such as Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concordance validity with these scales and good validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, in contrast to the more conventional methods of testing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying symptoms that are present in childhood and adults. This increases the accuracy of diagnoses and allows for a more precise comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also gives an opportunity to look at the effect of co-occurring conditions on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to recommend medication, you may need to make an appointment with a psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further evaluation and/or treatment. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further in-depth analysis of your symptoms and to assess for differential or co-occurring diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions like anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist determine the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
Being diagnosed with ADHD can be life-changing, offering explanations for long-standing problems and opening the door to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of experienced healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and comprehensive tool, helps improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms across different stages of life. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that can exhibit similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In an DIVA ADHD evaluation, a doctor will conduct a structured interview in order to ask a series of questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine the extent to which they affect the individual in different settings. This information is then used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA test is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It shows high sensitivity when compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs and psychiatrist's assessments. It also has high validity when it comes to assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: work and education as well as relationships, family and home 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 create a strong therapeutic bond, which will be crucial to the success of your assessment.
A psychologist or psychiatrist with expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can give an extensive, professional report. This report will outline the results of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on evidence.
If you suspect that you or a loved one might be suffering from ADHD If you suspect that someone you know may have ADHD, please call us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an assessment. She can then provide a referral to a specialist to develop an effective treatment plan. Be aware that the treatment plan recommended is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.