DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview designed to enhance ADHD assessments for adults. This study is designed to assess the criterion validity of 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 affect all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career advancement and the daily tasks we perform. It is essential that our ADHD assessment takes a holistic view, examining how symptoms affect all aspects of life. Dr. Schilling will begin by evaluating your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to evaluate the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and the impact these symptoms have had on your life.
The DIVA is an instrument for diagnostic interviews created by psychologists and psychiatrists to assess adult ADHD symptoms. It has been proven to be highly sensitive and specific. It is also highly efficient in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
To conduct the DIVA A trained professional usually psychologists or psychiatrists will ask questions about the main symptoms of ADHD which include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The doctor will also dig into the individual's history by looking at their early experiences and how those may have influenced their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD are not sudden. They appear over a long period of time from childhood through teen years and then into adulthood.
The DIVA can effectively identify people suffering from ADHD, as it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood and how these symptoms have affected an person'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. Other screening tools, such as the WURS brief, which was compared with the CAADID showed poor sensitivity, and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
In order to determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is crucial to determine the severity of the symptoms and their causes. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of neurocognitive capacity. It is crucial to think about the impact that the symptoms can have on a person's job and daily life. This can be determined conducting a structured interview the DIVA and, in some cases, asking for information from relatives and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been re-edited to be used in other countries including Korea. The study examined the criterion applicable to the Korean version (DIVA-5) using a clinical sample consisting of adults with ADHD.
During the DIVA the clinician will ask about ADHD symptoms during the early years of life and into adulthood. They will also ask the age at which they first noticed symptoms and the level of impairment caused by these symptoms. The clinician will also gather different sociodemographic information and inquire about any psychiatric co-morbidities.
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). A diagnosis of clinical ADHD was made by two psychiatrists with experience who utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 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 fair validity when compared with three self-report ratings instruments that include 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 diagnostic accuracy of the DIVA-5 was found to be similar to that of a clinical diagnosis formulated by two renowned psychiatrists. This was in line with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools, such as ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you are not diagnosed with ADHD, it can significantly impact your life. This can affect your relationships, academic progress, and work. It can also impact how you organize your daily life. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist, will conduct a structured interview with you about your symptoms currently using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. This will include asking standard questions about your levels inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also examine your personal history including your childhood experiences to create a complete picture of your symptoms.
This method is crucial for a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. This helps us better know your symptoms and help you with your treatment.
how to get adhd assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD and has high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to be a good criterion-validated test when compared to self-report scales such as Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these scales, and good validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to the more conventional methods of testing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying symptoms that manifest in the teen years and in adulthood. This increases the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more precise comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also gives an opportunity to consider the effect of co-occurring conditions on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot recommend medication, you may need to schedule an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further assessment and/or treatment. They can then refer you to a specialist Psychologist to conduct an thorough evaluation of your symptoms, and to look for co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions such as depression and anxiety. This will allow your Psychologist to determine the best 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 reliable assessment requires the expertise of qualified medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and comprehensive tool, helps to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms at various stages of life. It also identifies patterns of behavior that are persistent and helps distinguish between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as anxiety or depression.
In a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a practitioner will conduct an organized interview to ask a series questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. The doctor evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to understand how they impact on the individual's life and functioning in a variety of environments. This information can then be utilized to establish a precise diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is confirmed in comparison to other diagnostic tools. It has high sensitivity in comparison to WURS-briefs, CAA-DIDs and psychiatrist's assessments. It also has excellent reliability when it comes to measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, family and home social contact; leisure time and hobbies.
For an accurate DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated as well as their family and friends need to be present. This helps to establish trust and create a therapeutic bond that is important to the success of the evaluation.
A psychiatrist or psychologist with experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can give an in-depth professional report. The report will detail the findings of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the data.
Please contact how to get an assessment for adhd to set up an appointment if you or someone you love may have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can then make an appointment with a specialist to create an effective treatment strategy. Please be aware that the combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment.