DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview that has been developed to improve ADHD assessments for adults. This study is aimed at assessing the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 as well as its concurrent validity compared to 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.
Symptoms
The symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every aspect of our lives from relationships to career advancement, and the daily tasks we do. It is crucial that our ADHD assessment is a holistic view, examining how symptoms impact all aspects of life. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by collecting details of your symptoms and health history. She will then conduct the 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 interview tool developed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have sound sensitivity and specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic interview available in the country.
In order to conduct the DIVA the trained clinician - often a psychiatrist or psychologist - will inquire about the primary symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperactivity, and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician will also delve into the person's past and examine their childhood experiences and how those may have influenced their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD don't appear in a flash. They develop over a period of time from childhood through teen years and into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in the early years and later in adulthood, and how these symptoms affect the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas: education, employment relations with family/partners and leisure/social activities, as well as self-esteem/confidence. Other screening tools, such as the WURS brief, which was compared with the CAADID revealed low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is important that you evaluate the symptoms and their background. This can be accomplished through conducting a thorough interview about childhood symptoms as well as an assessment of the neurocognitive. It is also important to look at the effects of the symptoms the individual's life and work. This can be evaluated through a structured medical interview, called the DIVA and, in certain instances, asking for information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is a semi-structured interview that was first developed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised for use with adult patients in other countries as well, including Korea. This study evaluated the validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.
During the DIVA the clinician will ask about ADHD symptoms during the early years of life and into adulthood. They will also inquire about the age of onset of symptoms and the level of impairment triggered by these symptoms. The clinician will also gather various sociodemographic data and inquire about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.
MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to screen for psychiatric co-morbidity. Two psychiatrists who are experienced used the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to establish a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. They assessed symptoms both in 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. adhd assessment has good concurrent validity when compared with the WURS scale and has fair validity when compared to three self-report ratings instruments: 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 diagnosis of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis formulated by two renowned psychiatrists. This was in line both with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools such as ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you have an undiagnosed ADHD it can greatly affect your life. It can impact your relationships, academic progress, and work. It can also affect the way you organize your daily life. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and provide treatment options to alleviate your symptoms and provide coping 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. This will involve asking standardised questions about your levels hyperactivity, inattention, and an impulsiveness. It will also dig into your personal history and childhood experiences to give you the full picture of the symptoms you are experiencing.
This approach is essential to a thorough adult ADHD diagnosis. It also allows us to identify the root cause of your symptoms, which will help guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment can be used to determine adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also been proven to have sound criterion validity, when compared to self-report rating scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity with these scales, and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA evaluation, in contrast to the more conventional methods of testing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying the symptoms that occur during childhood and adults. This increases the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows a more accurate comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also gives an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring conditions on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist is not able to prescribe treatment, it might be necessary to set up an appointment with a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist for a further assessment and/or therapy. You may be referred to psychologists who specialize in more in-depth assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there are co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid disorders like depression and anxiety. This will help your Psychologist recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can transform your life. It provides answers to persistent issues and opens the way to effective treatment options. However, a thorough evaluation requires the expertise of qualified medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a standardized and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by evaluating symptoms across different life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior and differentiates between ADHD symptoms and those of other disorders that can exhibit similar symptoms in adults, like anxiety or depression.
In a DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask several questions regarding symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician assesses the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the person in various situations. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is confirmed in comparison to other diagnostic tools. It has high sensitivity in comparison to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs, and psychiatrist's tests. It also has excellent reliability when it comes to measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: work and education as well as relationships, family and home; social contacts; and leisure time and hobbies.
A well-validated DIVA assessment requires the participation of the person being evaluated as well as their close family members and friends. This will help build trust and strengthen the therapeutic bond, which is crucial to the success of your evaluation.
An experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment will be able to give a thorough report. This report will present the findings of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment if you or someone you love might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an evaluation. She can then provide a referral to a specialist to create an effective treatment plan. Please be aware that a combination of psychotherapy and medication is the recommended treatment.