DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview with a semistructured format that was developed to improve ADHD assessment in adults. This study will evaluate the criterion valid of 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
ADD/ADHD symptoms affect all aspects of our lives from relationships to advancement in our careers and the daily tasks we do. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach and look at how the symptoms affect every aspect of our lives. Dr Schilling will begin by evaluating 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 interviewing instrument designed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been proven to have a high sensitivity to sound and specificity. It is also extremely effective in identifying those with the disorder. It can help raise awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic interview available in the country.
A qualified clinician, typically psychiatrists, will inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. The doctor will also dig into the individual's history by looking at their early experiences and how they may have influenced their behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD aren't something that just happens to appear in a flash, they manifest through the teenage years, and through adulthood.
The DIVA can detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in the early years and later in adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the individual's daily functioning across five different areas - education, employment relations with family/partners social activities/leisure, as well as self-esteem/confidence. As a contrast other screening tools, like the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID, showed poor sensitiveness and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to evaluate the symptoms and their history. This can be done with an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of the neurological. It is crucial to think about the impact that the symptoms can have on a person's work and daily life. This can be determined using a structured clinical interview, called the DIVA, and in some cases, obtaining information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is an interview with a semi-structured format that was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been updated for use with adult patients in other countries as well, 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 into adulthood, the age at which the symptoms onset, and the extent of impairment resulting from these symptoms. The clinician will also collect various sociodemographic data and inquire about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.
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). are adhd assessments covered by insurance experienced psychiatrists utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 in order to determine a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. They evaluated symptoms throughout adulthood and 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 shown to have good compatibility with the WURS scale and fair concurrent validity with three self-report rating 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 accuracy of the DIVA-5's diagnosis was found to be similar to that of a clinical diagnoses made by two psychiatrists. This was in agreement with the specificity and sensitivity of earlier screening tools, such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. This can be in many areas, from relationships, work and academic progress to the simple task of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, and provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and cope mechanisms.
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 regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also delve into your personal history, including childhood experiences, to gain a complete understanding of your symptoms and their impact on your life.
This method is crucial to a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. It also helps us identify the root cause 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 shown to have good criterion valid when compared to self-report scales such as Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrency with these and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, in contrast to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying symptoms that are present in childhood and adults. This increases the accuracy of diagnosis and allows a more accurate comparison of sociodemographic traits between the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to consider the effect of co-occurring conditions on the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to recommend treatment, it might be necessary to schedule an appointment with a Pediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. They will then refer you to an expert Psychologist for more in-depth evaluation of your symptoms, and to look for co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing for co-occurring conditions such as depression and anxiety. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
Getting diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life and provide explanations for lingering issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. A thorough evaluation requires the expert knowledge of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and comprehensive tool, can help to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms at different life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions which may have similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In an DIVA ADHD evaluation, a practitioner will conduct an organized interview to ask a series of questions about the symptoms like hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. The clinician assesses the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to determine how they impact on the person's life and performance in several environments. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison to other diagnostic tools. It shows high sensitivity compared to WURS-briefs, CAA-DIDs and psychiatrist's assessments. It also has excellent reliability for assessing ADHD in five areas of daily function that include education and work relationships with family and home social interactions, free time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the individual being evaluated as well as their close family members and friends. This helps to establish trust and create a therapeutic bond that is important to the success of the evaluation.
An experienced psychiatrist or psychologist who is certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment will be able to provide a comprehensive report. This report will outline the findings of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Please contact us to schedule 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 evaluation. She will refer you to a specialist who will develop a treatment plan. Be aware that the recommended treatment method is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.