DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semistructured interview developed to enhance ADHD assessment in adults. This study is aimed at assessing the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 as well as its concomitant validity 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.
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. how to get assessed for adhd uk is crucial that our ADHD assessment is a holistic view, examining how symptoms impact all aspects of our lives. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by obtaining details about your symptoms as well as health background. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to examine the primary symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an interviewing instrument designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to evaluate the symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been shown to have sound sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is also extremely effective in identifying individuals suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
In order to conduct the DIVA the trained clinician typically a psychiatrist or psychologist - will inquire about the primary symptoms of ADHD, including inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The psychologist will also look into the individual's history, looking at their childhood experiences and how they could influence their present behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear at a moment's notice, they are developed throughout the teen years, and even into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD because it takes into account both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria during childhood and into adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the person's daily functioning in five distinct areas - employment, education and family/partner relationships, social activities/leisure, and self-esteem/confidence. As a contrast, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief, which was compared with the CAADID, showed poor sensitivity and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to evaluate the symptoms and their history. This can be done with an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is also crucial to assess the effects of the symptoms the person's work and life. This can be assessed using a structured clinical interview, called the DIVA and, in some cases, obtaining information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is an interview with a semi-structured format that was first developed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been re-edited for use in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the validity of the criterion used to determine the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample of adult patients with ADHD.
During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, as well as the age at which symptoms first manifest, as well as the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The clinician also collects diverse set of sociodemographic data and inquires about any psychiatric 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). Two experienced psychiatrists used the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 in order to establish a diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms throughout adulthood and 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 found to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale, and fair concurrent validity with three self-report ratings 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 accuracy of diagnosing ADHD with the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable with the accuracy of a diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in line both with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools, like ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. It can impact your relationships, academic progress and work. It can also affect the way you manage your day-to-day activities. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and difficulties, and also provide treatments that can improve your symptoms and coping mechanisms.
A trained psychologist (typically psychiatrists or 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 an impulsiveness. It will also examine your personal history and childhood experiences to give you an accurate picture of your symptoms.
This approach is crucial to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. This allows us to better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adult ADHD with high sensitivity and precision. It has also been demonstrated to be valid as a criterion, when compared to self-report rating scales such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity with these scales and has fair validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, unlike the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying symptoms that are present in childhood and adults. This improves the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more precise comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also offers an opportunity to look at the impact of co-occurring disorders on the presentation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to prescribe medication, you might need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist or Paediatrician for further evaluation and/or treatment. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further thorough evaluation of your symptoms, and to assess for co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for co-occurring conditions such as anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It can provide answers to long-standing problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. However, a good evaluation requires the expertise of experienced medical experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a standardized and extensive tool that assists to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across various life stages. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as anxiety or depression.
In the DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The doctor evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to understand how they impact an individual's life and how they function in a variety of environments. This information can be utilized to establish a precise diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been verified against other diagnostic tools and exhibits high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief, CAA-DID and an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has a high degree of validity in conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily functioning such as education and work, relationships home and family, social contacts, and free time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the person being evaluated and their close family members and close friends. This will help establish trust and create a strong therapeutic connection, which is crucial to the success of your evaluation.
A psychiatrist or psychologist with experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide an extensive, professional report. The report will detail the findings of the test and provide a treatment strategy that is based on the evidence.
Please contact us to set up an appointment if you or someone you love may have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can refer you to an expert who will create a treatment strategy. Be aware that an amalgamation of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment.