DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semistructured interview developed to improve ADHD assessment in adults. This study is aimed at assessing 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.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD impact every area of life including relationships and career progression to the daily activities that comprise our lives. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments are holistic, looking at how symptoms affect all aspects of life. Dr Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview that is designed to assess both the core symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an interview tool developed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been proven to have high sensitivity and specificity. It is highly effective at identifying people suffering from the disorder. It is able to increase awareness and diagnose the condition of adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic interview for adults suffering from ADHD available in the country.
adhd assessment uk online trained clinician, usually psychiatrists will ask questions to determine the primary symptoms of ADHD. These include inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The psychologist will also analyze the background of the person, including their childhood experiences and the impact on their present behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD aren't something that just happens to appear in a flash, they manifest through the teenage years, and through adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify people suffering from ADHD, as it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in adulthood and childhood, and how those symptoms have affected the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas of life: education, work, family/partner relations and leisure time/social activities, and self-esteem and self-confidence. Contrary to this, other screening tools like the WURS-brief which was compared to CAADID and showed low sensitivity and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important to assess the signs and symptoms as well as their history. This can be accomplished through a comprehensive interview about childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of neurocognitive capacity. It is also crucial to look at the effects of the symptoms on the individual's life and work. This can be evaluated conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in certain cases, getting information from relatives and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been refined to be used in other countries, including Korea. This study looked at the criteria applicable to the Korean version (DIVA-5) in an actual 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 onset, and the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The clinician also collects wide range of sociodemographic data and inquires about any psychosis-related or comorbidity.
Patients were assessed for psychiatric co-morbidity 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 diagnosis of clinical ADHD was established by two experienced psychiatrists who used the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to evaluate symptoms in both 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 has good concurrent validity when compared to 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 DIVA-5's diagnostic accuracy was found to be similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis given by two psychiatrists. This was in line with the specificity and sensitivity of earlier screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your life. This can affect your relationships, academic performance, and work. It can also impact the way you organize your day-to-day activities. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and also provide treatment options to alleviate your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct a structured discussion with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will involve standardised questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity. It will also delve into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to obtain a complete picture of your symptoms and the impact they have on your life.
This approach is essential to a complete adult ADHD diagnosis. It also helps us identify the root cause of your symptoms, which helps inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD, with high sensitivity and precision. It has also been proven 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 reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, unlike traditional methods for testing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying the symptoms that occur during the teen years and in adulthood. adhd assessment women improves the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more accurate comparison of sociodemographic traits between the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on the presentation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to recommend treatment, it might be necessary to make an appointment with a pediatrician or Psychiatrist for a further assessment and/or therapy. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist to conduct an thorough evaluation of your symptoms, and to assess for differential or co-occurring diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid disorders, such as anxiety or depression. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
Getting diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life, offering explanations for long-standing difficulties and opening doors to effective treatment options. A successful evaluation requires the expert knowledge of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and extensive tool, helps to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms across different stages of life. It also detects patterns of behavior that remain and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
In a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a clinician will use a structured interview in order to ask a series questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be used to determine 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 the assessment of a psychiatrist. It also has a high degree of validity in it comes to assessing ADHD in five areas of daily functioning such as education and work, relationships, home and family, social contacts, and free time and hobbies.
To be able to conduct a valid DIVA assessment, the person being assessed and their family and friends need to be present. This will help build trust and create a strong therapeutic connection, which is essential to the success of your assessment.
A skilled psychologist or psychiatrist who is certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed report. This report will present the findings of the test and suggest a treatment plan based on the evidence.
If you suspect that you or someone you love might have ADHD, please contact us for an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can then make an appointment with a specialist to develop an effective treatment plan. Please be aware that the combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment.