DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview designed to enhance ADHD assessments for adults. This study will evaluate the validity of the criterion used in 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.
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 takes a comprehensive approach, looking at how the symptoms impact all aspects of our lives. Dr. Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to examine both the core symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and how they have affected your life.
The DIVA is an interview instrument designed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been shown to have a high sensitivity to sound and specificity. It is also extremely efficient in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It has the potential to increase awareness of, and the diagnosis of adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic test for adults suffering from ADHD available in the country.
A trained and experienced clinician, typically a psychiatrist, will inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The psychologist will also examine the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and the impact on their present behavior. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. how to get a adhd assessment appear over a long period of time, from childhood to teen years and into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD due to its consideration of both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in the early years and later in adulthood and how these signs have affected the person's daily functioning across five different areas - employment, education, family/partner relationships, social activities/leisure, and confidence and self-esteem. Other screening tools, for instance the WURS brief, which was compared with the CAADID demonstrated low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
In order to diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to evaluate the symptoms and their causes. This can be done through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurological. It is crucial to think about the impact these symptoms have on the person's work and daily life. This can be assessed through a structured medical interview, called the DIVA and, in certain cases, obtaining information from friends and family members.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview first designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used by adults in other countries as well, including Korea. This study looked at the criteria that is valid for the Korean version (DIVA-5) using a clinical sample consisting of adults with ADHD.
During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms in childhood and into adulthood, the age at which symptoms begin to manifest, and the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor also collects a wide range of sociodemographic data and asks about any psychosis-related or comorbidity.
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 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 was shown to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale as well as 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 diagnostic accuracy of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to that of a clinical diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in agreement with the sensitivity and specificity of previous screening tools like the ASRS and the 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 basic tasks of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and coping mechanism.
A trained clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct a structured interview with you regarding your symptoms currently using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will involve standardised questions regarding your levels of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. It will also examine your personal history, including your childhood experiences to create the full picture of your symptoms.
This approach is crucial to ensure a complete diagnosis of adult ADHD. 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 precision. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity, when compared to self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has a good concordance 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 assessment focuses on identifying and discussing symptoms that occur both during childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling an accurate comparison between sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot prescribe medication, you may require an appointment with a psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further evaluation and/or treatment. They will then refer you to an expert Psychologist for more in-depth analysis of your symptoms, and to look for co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions like anxiety and depression. This will help your Psychologist recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
Being diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life providing explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a good evaluation requires the expertise of experienced medical experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a structured and comprehensive tool that helps to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across various life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior that persist and helps distinguish between ADHD symptoms and other disorders like depression or anxiety.
In the DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask a series of questions about symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. The clinician evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to determine how they impact an individual's life and how they function in several settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It has high sensitivity when compared to WURS-briefs, CAA-DIDs and psychiatrist's tests. getting an adhd assessment uk has a high degree of validity when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work; relationships; home and family social contact; free time and leisure.
For an accurate DIVA assessment, the person being assessed and their family and friends must be present. This will help build trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which is essential to the success of your assessment.
A skilled psychologist or psychiatrist who has been certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can give a thorough report. This report will present the findings of the test and recommend a treatment program that is based on the evidence.
If you think you or someone you love might be suffering from ADHD Contact us to make an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a thorough evaluation. She will then make a referral to specialists to design an effective treatment plan. Please be aware that an amalgamation of psychotherapy and medication is the recommended treatment.