DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview designed to enhance ADHD assessments in adults. This study is designed to assess the validity of the criterion used in DIVA 2.0 and its validity in conjunction 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.
Symptoms
ADD/ADHD symptoms impact all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career advancement, and the everyday tasks we have to perform. It is crucial that our ADHD assessment is a holistic view, examining how symptoms impact every aspect of our lives. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by obtaining information about your symptoms and health history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, structured interview that examines both the primary symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD on your life.
The DIVA is an instrument for diagnostic interviews created by psychologists and psychiatrists to determine adult ADHD symptoms. It has been proven to have a high sensitivity to sound and a high degree of specificity. It is highly effective at identifying those suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea as it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic interview available in the country.
To conduct the DIVA the trained clinician usually psychologist or psychiatrist will ask questions about the main symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician will also delve into the person's past, looking at their childhood experiences and how they may influence their present behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD aren't something that just happens to appear in a flash, they manifest throughout one's childhood, teen years, and even into adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify those with ADHD because it takes into account 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 areas of life: education work, family/partner relationships, family social activities/leisure time and self-esteem and confidence in oneself. Other screening tools, for instance the WURS brief, which was compared with the CAADID revealed low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
In order to diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important to evaluate the symptoms and their causes. This can be done through a comprehensive interview on childhood symptoms as well as a neurological examination. It is also essential to assess the impact of the symptoms on the person's work and life. This can be assessed by conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in certain instances, getting information from family members and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview first developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used in other countries, including Korea. This study looked at the criteria valid of the Korean version (DIVA-5) using the clinical sample of patients with ADHD.
During the DIVA the doctor will inquire about ADHD symptoms during the early years of life and into adulthood. They will also inquire about the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the extent of impairment triggered by these symptoms. gp adhd assessment will also collect a variety of sociodemographic information and ask about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.
Patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 as well as the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was established by two psychiatrists with experience who utilized the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to determine the severity of symptoms in 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 with three self-report ratings instruments: 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 made by two psychiatrists. This was in agreement with the sensitivity and specificity of previous screening tools, such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you're not aware of ADHD, it can significantly affect your life. This could be in a variety of areas, from relationships, work and academic progress to the simple task of managing your daily life. A diagnosis can help you recognize your strengths and difficulties, as well as offer treatments that can help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.
A trained psychologist (typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist) will have a structured discussion with you, using the DIVA-5 instrument to assess your current symptoms. This will consist of standardised questions regarding your levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. It will also look into your personal history including your childhood experiences to create a complete picture of your symptoms.
This method is essential to a complete adult ADHD diagnosis. It also allows us to understand the root causes of your symptoms, which can help guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD and has high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to be valid as a criterion when compared to self-report scales such as Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrency with these scales and has reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
Contrary to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA test focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that are present in both childhood and in adulthood, thus increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling a more accurate comparison between sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also offers an opportunity to consider the effects of co-occurring disorders on manifestation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to prescribe medication, you might need to make an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further evaluation and/or treatment. They can refer you to an expert Psychologist for more in-depth analysis of your symptoms and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing co-occurring conditions, like depression or anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It provides answers to persistent problems and opens the way to effective treatment options. A good evaluation does require the expert knowledge of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized 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 are persistent and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as 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 the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician assesses the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the person in various situations. 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 in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as a psychiatrist's assessment. It also has high accuracy when measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: work and education; relationships; home and family social contact; leisure time and hobbies.
For an authentic DIVA assessment, the individual being evaluated, their family and friends need to be present. This will help to build trust and create a therapeutic bond that will be crucial for the success of the assessment.
A psychiatrist or psychologist with experience in the DIVA ADHD assessment can give a detailed professional report. This report will outline the results of the assessment and provide a treatment strategy that is based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you love may be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an assessment. She can then provide a referral to a specialist to develop an effective treatment strategy. Please be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the best treatment.