DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview that is semistructured designed to enhance ADHD assessment for adults. This study will evaluate the validity of the criterion used to determine 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.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives, from relationships to advancement in our careers and the daily tasks we perform. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach, looking at how symptoms affect every aspect of life. 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 both the core symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and the impact these symptoms have had on your life.
The DIVA is a diagnostic interview tool developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to assess adult ADHD symptoms. It has been demonstrated to have sound sensitivity and specificity. It is highly effective at identifying those who have the disorder. It can help 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 A trained professional usually psychologists or psychiatrists will ask questions about the core symptoms of ADHD, including inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The doctor will also dig into the person's past and examine their childhood experiences and how they could have affected their current behaviours. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear in a flash, they manifest throughout one's childhood, teen years, and through adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify people suffering from ADHD because 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 distinct areas of life - education and work, family/partnership relations social activities/leisure time and self-esteem and confidence in oneself. In comparison, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief, which was compared with the CAADID and showed low sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults it is essential to evaluate the symptoms as well as their background. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurocognitive assessment. It is also crucial to look at the effects of the symptoms on the person's work and life. This can be evaluated conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some instances, obtaining information from family and friends.
diva assessment for adhd is a semistructured interview originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been re-edited to be used 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 asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, the time at which the symptoms first manifest, as well as the severity of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor will also collect a variety of sociodemographic information and ask about any psychiatric co-morbidities.
MINI-S and Version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), along with the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to determine if a psychiatric co-morbidity existed. Two psychiatrists with experience utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 in order to establish a diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms both in adulthood and 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 was shown to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale, and 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 diagnosing ADHD with the DIVA-5 was found to be similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity and specificity of previous screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. This can affect your relationships, academic performance and work. It can also impact how you organize your daily life. A diagnosis can help identify your strengths and weaknesses and provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A trained clinician, usually psychologist or psychiatrist, will conduct a structured interview with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will involve asking standardised questions about your levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It will also look into your personal history, including childhood experiences, to get a full picture of your symptoms and the impact they have on your life.
This is essential to ensure a complete diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to identify the root cause of your symptoms, which can help inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is an extremely effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also shown to have good criterion valid when compared with self-report scales, such as the Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has a good concordance with these scales and fair validity with Sheehan’s Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, unlike more traditional methods of measuring ADHD in adulthood it focuses on identifying signs that occur during childhood and adults. This increases the accuracy of diagnosis and allows for a more precise comparison of sociodemographic traits between the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the impact of co-existing disorders on the presentation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot recommend medication, you may require an appointment with a Psychiatrist or Paediatrician for further evaluation and/or treatment. They can then refer you to an expert Psychologist for more thorough evaluation of your symptoms and to assess for co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing any comorbid conditions, such as depression or anxiety. This will allow your Psychologist to determine the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can alter your life. It can provide answers to persistent problems and opens the way to effective treatment options. A thorough evaluation requires the expertise of qualified healthcare providers. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and extensive tool, helps to improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms across different stages of life. It also helps identify patterns of behavior and differentiates between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that may present similar symptoms in adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine the extent to which they affect the person in various situations. diva assessment for adhd can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It has a high sensitivity in comparison to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs, and psychiatrist's tests. It also has a high degree of validity when it comes to assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships with family and home social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the individual being evaluated and their close family members and friends. This will help build trust and strengthen the therapeutic connection, which is crucial to the success of your assessment.
A psychologist or psychiatrist who has experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can give a detailed, professional report. This report will outline the findings of the test and suggest a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you love might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and can give a thorough assessment. She can refer you to a specialist who will develop a treatment plan. Please be aware that a combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment.