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 as well as 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
Symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every area of life, from relationships and career advancement to the everyday tasks that make up our lives. It is crucial that our ADHD assessment takes a comprehensive view, examining how symptoms impact all aspects of life. During your evaluation, Dr. Schilling will begin by obtaining details of your symptoms and health background. She will then conduct an DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured interview that evaluates both the core symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.
getting an adhd assessment uk is a diagnostic interview tool created by psychologists and psychiatrists to determine adult ADHD symptoms. It has been found to be extremely sensitive and precise. It is also highly effective in identifying individuals suffering from the disorder. It is able to raise awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea as it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
A trained clinician, usually a psychiatrist, will ask questions to determine the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsive nature. The doctor will also dig into the individual's history, looking at their childhood experiences and how they may influence their present behavior. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They appear over a long period of time from childhood to teenage years and then into adulthood.
The DIVA is able to effectively identify people suffering from ADHD, as it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD during childhood and into adulthood and how these symptoms have affected an individual's daily functioning in five different areas of life: education and work, family/partnership relations, social activities/leisure time, and self-esteem and confidence in oneself. As a contrast other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief which was compared to CAADID and showed low accuracy and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is crucial to assess the signs and symptoms along with their background. This can be done through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is also essential to assess the impact of the symptoms on the person's life and work. This can be determined by conducting a structured interview, the DIVA, and in some cases, obtaining information from family members and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview first designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been updated to be used by adults in other countries as well, including Korea. This study examined the validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample of adult 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 inquire about the age at which they first noticed symptoms and the degree of impairment triggered by these symptoms. The clinician also collects a wide range of sociodemographic data and asks about any psychosis-related or comorbidity.
Patients were examined for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was established by two experienced psychiatrists who used the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to determine the severity of symptoms in adulthood and childhood and 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 has good concurrent validity when compared with the WURS scale, and has fair validity when compared to three self-report ratings instruments that 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 comparable to the accuracy of a diagnosis formulated by two renowned psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools such ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. It can affect many areas, from relationships, academic progress and work to the simple task of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, and also provide treatment options that help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.
A qualified clinician, typically psychologist or psychiatrist, will conduct an in-depth interview with you about your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. It will include standardised questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. It will also delve into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to obtain a complete picture of your symptoms and their impacts on your life.
This approach is essential for a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. This will help us better know your symptoms and help you with your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to identify adult ADHD with high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been demonstrated to be reliable in determining the validity of criterion when compared to self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concordance validity with these scales, and has fair validity with Sheehan’s Dysfunction Inventory.
Contrary to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA evaluation is focused on identifying and discussing symptoms that are present in both childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing for an accurate comparison between sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the effects of coexisting disorders on the manifestation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to prescribe medication, it may be necessary to set up an appointment with a Pediatrician or Psychiatrist for a further assessment and/or therapy. They will then refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further thorough evaluation of your symptoms and to look for co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing co-occurring conditions, like depression or anxiety. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can alter your life. It can provide answers to long-standing problems and opens the way to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of experienced medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a standardized and comprehensive tool that helps to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across various life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that may present similar symptoms in adults, like anxiety or depression.
In the course of a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a practitioner will conduct a structured interview in order to ask a series of questions about symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. The clinician assesses the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be used to make an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA test is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It shows high sensitivity compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs and psychiatrist's tests. It has also excellent validity in it comes to assessing ADHD in five areas of daily function that include education and work relationships home and family, social contacts, and free time and hobbies.
For an accurate DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated, their family and friends need to be present. This will help build trust and a therapeutic bond that is important to the success of the assessment.
A psychologist or psychiatrist who has experience in the DIVA ADHD assessment can give an in-depth professional report. This report will outline the findings of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
If you think you or a loved one may be suffering from ADHD, please contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a thorough evaluation. She will refer you to a specialist who will develop an appropriate treatment strategy. Please be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.