DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview that is semistructured designed to enhance ADHD assessment in adults. This study is designed to assess the validity of the criterion used in DIVA 2.0 and its concurrent 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.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD impact every area of life, from relationships and career progression to the day-to-day tasks that make up our lives. It is important that our ADHD assessment takes a holistic approach, looking at how the symptoms affect all aspects 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 psychiatrists and psychotherapists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have sound sensitivity and specificity. It is also highly efficient in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea as it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic interview available in the country.
A trained clinician, usually a psychiatrist will ask questions to determine the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. The psychologist will also look into the person's past, looking at their childhood experiences and how those may have affected their current behaviours. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They appear over a long period of time from childhood to teenage 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 the symptoms have impacted the person's daily functioning in five distinct areas of life: education, work, family/partner relations, social activities/leisure time, and self-esteem and confidence in oneself. Other screening tools, like the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID demonstrated low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important to evaluate the symptoms and their history. This can be done by conducting a thorough interview about childhood symptoms as well as a neurocognitive assessment. It is important to consider the impact that these symptoms have on the person's work and life. This can be determined using a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some cases, getting information from family members and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been refined to be used in other countries, including Korea. This study evaluated the validity of the criterion used to determine 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 begin to manifest, and the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor also collects a wide range of sociodemographic data and inquires about any psychiatric co-morbidity.
Patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Two psychiatrists with experience employed the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to determine a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. They evaluated 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 has good concurrent validity when compared with 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 accuracy of the DIVA-5's diagnosis was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis given by two psychiatrists. This was in agreement with the specificity and sensitivity of previous screening tools, such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you have an undiagnosed ADHD, it can significantly impact your life. This can be in many areas from your relationships, academic progress and work to the simple task of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help identify your strengths and weaknesses, and offer treatment options to improve your symptoms and cope mechanisms.
A licensed clinician, usually psychologist or psychiatrist will conduct a structured discussion with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. It will include standardised questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also delve into your personal history, including childhood experiences, in order to obtain a complete picture of your symptoms and their impact on your life.
This method is essential for a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. This helps us better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.
assessment adhd is an extremely effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to be valid as a criterion when compared with self-report rating scales such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good consistency with these scales and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to more traditional methods of assessing ADHD in adulthood it focuses on identifying signs that are present in childhood and adults. This improves the accuracy of diagnosis and allows for a more accurate comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the effects of coexisting disorders on the presentation and severity of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is unable to prescribe medication, you may need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist or a paediatrician for a more thorough evaluation and/or treatment. They can refer you to a specialist Psychologist for further in-depth analysis of your symptoms, and to determine if there are any differential or co-occurring diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression. This will enable your Psychologist an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can alter your life. It offers solutions to persistent issues and opens the door to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise 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 various stages of life. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist of behavior and differentiates between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that can exhibit similar symptoms in adults, such as depression or anxiety.
In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a doctor conducts an interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician assesses the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms to understand how they impact the individual's life and how they function in several settings. This information is then used to develop an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been verified against other diagnostic tools and exhibits high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as a psychiatrist's assessment. It also has excellent validity when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: work and education; relationships; home and family social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the individual being evaluated and their close family members and friends. This helps build trust and a strong therapeutic connection, which is crucial to the success of your assessment.
A skilled psychologist or psychiatrist who is skilled in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed report. This report will outline the findings of the test and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you love may be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a thorough evaluation. She can refer you to a specialist who will formulate a treatment strategy. Be aware that the recommended treatment method is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
