DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is a semi-structured interview that has been developed to enhance ADHD assessments in adults. This study is designed to assess the validity of the criterion used in 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.
Signs and symptoms
ADD/ADHD symptoms impact all aspects of our lives, from relationships to advancement in our careers and the daily tasks we perform. That's why it is so crucial that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach and look at how the symptoms impact all areas of life. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by collecting information about your symptoms and health background. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview that is designed to assess the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD and the impact these symptoms have had on your life.
The DIVA is an interview instrument designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been proven to be highly sensitive and specific. It is extremely effective in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can help raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea as it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic test available in the country.
A trained clinician, usually psychiatrists, will ask questions to determine the core 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 they could have influenced their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD don't appear in a flash. They appear over a long period of time, from childhood to teen years and then into adulthood.
The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria during childhood and into adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the person's daily functioning in five distinct areas - employment, education, family/partner relationships social activities/leisure, as well as confidence and self-esteem. In comparison, other screening tools such as the WURS-brief which was compared to CAADID, showed poor sensitivity and negative predictive values.
Diagnosis
To determine ADHD in adults it is essential to evaluate the signs and symptoms along with their history. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms and a neurological examination. It is also crucial to assess the effects of the symptoms the person's life and work. This can be assessed using a structured clinical interview, the DIVA and, in certain cases, obtaining information from friends and family members.
The DIVA is an interview that is semi-structured and was first developed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used with adult patients in other countries, including Korea. The study examined the criterion valid of the Korean version (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample consisting of adults suffering from ADHD.
During the DIVA the doctor will inquire about ADHD symptoms in the early years and in adulthood. adhd assessment psychiatry uk will also ask the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the level of impairment caused by these symptoms. The doctor also collects a variety of sociodemographic information and inquires about any psychiatric comorbidity.
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 experienced psychiatrists utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to establish 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 has good concurrent validity when compared with the WURS scale, and has fair validity when compared with 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 the DIVA-5's diagnosis was found to be similar to the accuracy of clinical diagnoses that were made by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools such ASRS and WURS.
Treatment
If you're not aware of ADHD it can greatly impact your life. This can be in many areas, from relationships, work and academic progress to the basic tasks of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, and also offer treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.
A trained clinician, usually psychologist or psychiatrist, will conduct an in-depth interview with you regarding your symptoms currently 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 dig into your personal history, including childhood experiences to get the full picture of the symptoms you are experiencing.
This is essential to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. This allows us to better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is an extremely efficient method of diagnosing adult ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity when compared with self-report rating scales such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these and fair validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
In contrast to the more conventional methods used to assess ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that can be observed in childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and allowing an easier comparison of sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also offers an opportunity to look at the effect of co-occurring disorders on the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot recommend medication, you may need to make an appointment with a psychiatrist or Paediatrician for further evaluation and/or treatment. You may be referred to an expert psychologist for a more thorough evaluation of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid disorders like depression and anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist suggest a suitable treatment plan.
Getting Started
Getting diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life, offering explanations for long-standing difficulties and opening doors to effective treatment options. A thorough evaluation requires the expert knowledge of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, which is a structured and comprehensive tool, helps improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms at different life stages. It also helps identify patterns of behavior and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and those of other conditions that can exhibit similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.
In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The clinician evaluates the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect an person in various settings. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment is confirmed in comparison to other diagnostic tools. It has a high sensitivity in comparison to WURS-briefs, CAA-DIDs and psychiatrist's tests. It also has excellent validity when measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, family and home social interactions; free time and leisure.
For a valid DIVA assessment, the person being evaluated as well as their family and friends need to be present. This will help to build trust and strengthen the therapeutic bond that will be essential 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 detailed report. The report will detail the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.
Please contact us to set up an appointment if you suspect you or someone you love may be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and is able to provide an evaluation. She will refer you to an expert who will create a treatment strategy. Be aware that the recommended treatment approach is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.