DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview that is semistructured designed to improve ADHD assessment in adults. This study will evaluate the criterion validity of 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 area of life, from relationships and career advancement to the day-to-day tasks that are part of our lives. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments take a holistic approach by examining how symptoms affect all aspects of our lives. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by collecting details about your symptoms as well as health history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to examine the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD as well as how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an interview tool designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have high sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It is able to increase awareness of, and the diagnosis of the condition of adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic interview for adults suffering from ADHD available in the country.
A trained and experienced clinician, typically psychiatrists, will ask questions to determine the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsive nature. The psychologist will also look into the person's past, looking at their childhood experiences and how they could have affected their current behaviours. This is because the signs of ADHD don't just emerge at a moment's notice, they are developed through the teenage years, and even into adulthood.
The DIVA is able to effectively detect those suffering from ADHD by taking into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood and how these symptoms have affected an person's daily functioning in five areas of life: education, work, family/partner relations social activities/leisure time and self-esteem and self-confidence. In comparison, other screening tools like the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID which showed poor accuracy and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of ADHD in adults it is essential to evaluate the symptoms as well as their background. This can be accomplished through conducting a thorough interview about childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurocognitive. It is important to consider the impact that the symptoms have on the person's work and daily life. This can be determined using a structured clinical interview, the DIVA and, in some instances, asking for information from family members and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used in other countries including Korea. This study examined the criterion validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.
During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, as well as the time at which the symptoms onset, and the severity of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor will also collect various sociodemographic data and inquire about any psychiatric co-morbidity.
The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0 The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI) as well as the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to determine if a psychiatric co-morbidity existed. Two psychiatrists who are experienced utilized 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 duration 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 was shown to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale, and fair concurrent validity with three self-report rating instruments: the 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 diagnostic accuracy of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in line both with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools such as ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a significant impact on your life. This could be in a variety of areas, from relationships, academic progress and work to the simple task of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and difficulties, as well as offer treatments that can improve your symptoms and coping mechanisms.
A qualified psychologist (typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist) will have a structured conversation with you, using the DIVA-5 instrument to assess your current symptoms. It will include regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also dig into your personal history and childhood experiences to get an accurate picture of the symptoms you are experiencing.
This approach is essential to a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. It also helps us understand the root causes of your symptoms, which helps guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to identify adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also shown to be a good criterion-validated test when compared with self-report scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrency with these and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, unlike traditional methods for assessing ADHD in adulthood it focuses on identifying signs that manifest in childhood and into adulthood. This increases the accuracy of diagnosis and allows for a more accurate comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the impact of co-existing disorders on the manifestation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to prescribe treatment, it might be necessary to make an appointment with a pediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. You can be referred psychologists who specialize in more in-depth assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing co-occurring conditions, like anxiety or depression. This will enable your Psychologist determine the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can alter your life. It offers solutions to long-standing problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of qualified healthcare experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a standardized and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across different life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior and differentiates between ADHD symptoms and those of other disorders which may have similar symptoms in adults, like depression or anxiety.
In the course of a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a clinician will use an organized interview 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 the extent to which they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be utilized to establish a precise diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. cheapest adhd assessment uk shows high sensitivity compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs and psychiatrist's assessments. It has also excellent validity when conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily function such as education and work, relationships with family and home social interactions, free time and hobby.
To be able to conduct a valid DIVA assessment, the individual being evaluated as well as their family and friends need to be present. This will help build trust and a therapeutic bond that is essential to the success of the assessment.
A psychologist or psychiatrist who has expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can give an in-depth professional report. The report will detail the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based upon evidence.
If you suspect that you or someone you love might be suffering from ADHD, please contact us for an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can then make an appointment with a specialist to develop an effective treatment plan. Be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the recommended treatment.