DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview that was developed to enhance ADHD assessments for adults. This study is aimed at assessing the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 and 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.
Symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD impact every area of life including relationships and career advancement to the everyday tasks that are part of our lives. It is essential that our ADHD assessment takes a comprehensive approach, looking at how the symptoms impact every aspect of our lives. Dr Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct an DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, interview that evaluates both the core symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD on your life.
The DIVA is an interview tool developed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been proven to have sound sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It has the potential to increase awareness and 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 inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The doctor will also dig into the person's past and examine their childhood experiences and how they may have influenced their behavior. 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 can detect ADHD because it takes into account both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in childhood and in adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the person's daily functioning across five areas: education, employment relations with family/partners social activities/leisure, as well as self-esteem/confidence. As a contrast other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID, showed poor accuracy and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of ADHD in adults it is important that you evaluate the symptoms as well as their history. This can be done by a comprehensive interview about childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of neurocognitive capacity. It is also crucial to assess the impact of the symptoms on the individual's life and work. This can be assessed through a structured medical interview, also known as the DIVA, and in some instances, getting information from family members and friends.
The DIVA is a semi-structured interview that was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been refined for use in other countries, including Korea. This study examined the validity of the criterion used to determine 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 into adulthood, the time at which the symptoms first manifest, as well as the severity of impairment resulting from these symptoms. The doctor also collects a variety of sociodemographic information and inquires about any mental health comorbidity.
Patients were assessed for psychiatric co-morbidity 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 experienced psychiatrists who utilized the DIVA-5 structured diagnostic interview to evaluate symptoms in both adulthood and childhood and determine the duration of these 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 with the WURS scale, and 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 accuracy of diagnosing ADHD with the DIVA-5 was found to be similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis established by two expert psychiatrists. This was in line with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools, such ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you are not diagnosed with ADHD it can greatly affect your life. It can impact your relationships, academic progress as well as your work. It can also impact the way you manage your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide treatments that can improve your symptoms and coping mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually psychologist or psychiatrist, will conduct a structured interview with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. It will ask you standard questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to get a full picture of your symptoms and their impacts on your life.
This method is essential to a complete adult ADHD diagnosis. It also helps us determine the root of your symptoms, which can help inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to diagnose adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity when compared with self-report rating scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity with these and good validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
Contrary to the more conventional methods used to assess ADHD in adults, the DIVA evaluation focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that occur both during childhood and in adulthood, thus increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing an easier comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups. The DIVA assessment can also be used to assess the effects of co-existing disorders on the manifestation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to recommend medication, you may require an appointment with a Psychiatrist or Paediatrician for further assessment and/or treatment. adhd assessment london can be referred psychologists who specialize in more in-depth assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. linked website includes assessing comorbid conditions, like anxiety or depression. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It offers solutions to persistent issues and opens the way to effective treatment options. However, a good evaluation requires the expertise of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a structured and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across different life stages. It also identifies patterns of behavior that are persistent and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as anxiety or depression.
In a DIVA ADHD assessment, a doctor conducts an interview to ask several questions regarding symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. The clinician assesses the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms to determine how they impact an individual's life and functioning in a variety of settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It shows high sensitivity when compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs, and psychiatrist's assessments. It has also excellent validity for conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily functioning such as education and work, relationships home and family social interactions, free time and hobby.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the person being assessed as well as their closest family members and their friends. This helps to establish trust and create a therapeutic bond that is important to the success of the assessment.
A psychiatrist or psychologist with expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed, professional report. The report will detail the findings of the assessment and recommend a treatment program based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you suspect you or someone you love might be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an assessment. She can then provide an appointment with a specialist to develop an effective treatment plan. Be aware that an amalgamation of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment.