Diva ADHD Assessment: 11 Things You're Leaving Out
DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview that has been developed to improve ADHD assessments for adults. This study aims at evaluating the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 and 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.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every area of life, from relationships and career progression to the everyday tasks that are part of our lives. That's why it is so crucial that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach by examining how symptoms impact all areas of our lives. Dr. Schilling will begin by assessing your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct a DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured, interview which evaluates both the main symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.
The DIVA is an interviewing tool developed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been proven to be extremely sensitive and specific. It is extremely effective in identifying those suffering from the disorder. It can help raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.
A trained and experienced clinician, typically a psychiatrist, will ask questions to determine the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The doctor will also examine the background of the person, including their childhood experiences as well as their impact on their current behaviours. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear in a flash, they manifest through the teenage years, and even into adulthood.
The DIVA can efficiently identify people suffering from ADHD, as it takes into account both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the individual's daily functioning in five areas of life - education, work, family/partner relations social activities/leisure time and self-esteem and self-confidence. Contrary to this other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief, which was compared with the CAADID, showed poor sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is crucial to assess the symptoms and their history. This can be accomplished through a comprehensive interview on childhood symptoms and a neurological assessment. It is essential to take into consideration the impact these symptoms have on the individual's work and life. This can be determined conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in certain cases, getting information from family members and friends.
assess adhd is an interview with a semi-structured format that was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been re-edited for use in other countries, including Korea. This study looked at the criterion validity of 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 in childhood and adulthood, the age at which the symptoms begin to manifest, and the extent of impairment caused by those symptoms. The doctor will also collect different sociodemographic information and inquire 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). Two experienced psychiatrists utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to establish a diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms in adulthood as well as 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 compatibility with the WURS scale, and fair concurrent validity with three self-report rating instruments: 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 that of a clinical diagnosis established by two expert psychiatrists. This was in agreement with the specificity and sensitivity of previous screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your life. This can be in many areas from your relationships, academic and work progress to the simple tasks of organising your day-to-day 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 qualified clinician (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will conduct a structured discussion with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to evaluate your current symptoms. This will involve asking standardised questions about your levels hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. It will also examine your personal history including childhood experiences to give you the full picture of the symptoms you are experiencing.
This approach is crucial to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to identify the root cause of your symptoms, which helps guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD and has excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been proven to have good criterion valid when compared with self-report scales such as Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concordance validity with these scales, and has fair validity with Sheehan’s Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to traditional methods for measuring ADHD in adulthood it focuses on identifying signs that are present in the teen years and in adulthood. This increases the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more accurate comparison of sociodemographic traits between the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to recommend medication, it may be necessary to schedule an appointment with a Pediatrician or Psychiatrist for further assessment and/or therapy. They will then refer you to a specialist Psychologist to conduct an in-depth analysis of your symptoms, and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing co-occurring disorders, such as depression or anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It offers solutions to persistent problems and opens the way to effective treatment options. assess adhd requires the expertise of trained healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and comprehensive tool, helps to improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms across different stages of life. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and those of other conditions that may present similar symptoms for adults, such as depression or anxiety.
In an DIVA ADHD evaluation, a clinician will use an organized interview to ask a series of questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. The doctor evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to understand how they impact on the individual's life and functioning in several settings. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It has high sensitivity compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs, and psychiatrist's tests. It also has excellent accuracy when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, home and family social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
A valid DIVA assessment requires the participation of the individual being evaluated and their close family members and their friends. This will help to build trust and a therapeutic bond which is crucial to the success of the evaluation.
A psychologist or psychiatrist with expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can write a detailed professional report. This report will present the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you love might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can then make an appointment with a specialist to develop an effective treatment strategy. Please be aware that the recommended treatment method is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.