DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis

DIVA is an interview that is semistructured designed to improve ADHD assessment in adults. This study will evaluate the criterion valid of DIVA 2.0 and its validity in conjunction 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.

Symptoms

The symptoms of ADD/ADHD can affect every area of life from relationships and career progression to the daily tasks that are part of our lives. It is essential that our ADHD assessment is a holistic perspective, looking at how symptoms affect all aspects of life. 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 evaluate the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD and how those symptoms have impacted your life.

The DIVA is an interview tool developed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive and specific. It is also extremely effective in identifying individuals suffering from 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 the tendency to be impulsive. click through the up coming page will also dig into the background of the individual by looking at their early experiences and how those may have affected their current behaviours. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear suddenly, they develop through the teenage years, and through adulthood.

The DIVA can be used to detect ADHD due to its consideration of both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria during childhood and into adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas: education, employment and family/partner relationships and leisure/social activities, as well as confidence and self-esteem. Other screening tools, such as the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID revealed low sensitivity and negative predictive value.

Diagnosis

In order to determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is important to evaluate the symptoms and their causes. This can be done through conducting a thorough interview about childhood symptoms as well as a neurocognitive assessment. It is crucial to think about the impact these symptoms can have on a person's work and life. This can be determined conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some instances, obtaining information from family and friends.

The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised for use with adult patients in other countries as well, including Korea. The study examined the criterion valid of the Korean version (DIVA-5) in a clinical sample consisting of adults with ADHD.

During the DIVA the clinician will ask about ADHD symptoms in the early years and in adulthood. They will also ask the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the degree of impairment caused by these symptoms. The clinician will also collect a variety of sociodemographic information and ask about any psychiatric co-morbidities.

The MINI-S and Version 5.0.0 and the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), along with the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to determine if a psychiatric co-morbidity existed. A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was made by two experienced psychiatrists who used the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to evaluate symptoms in both the early years and in childhood, and determine the duration of those 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 concordance 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 the DIVA-5's diagnosis was found to be comparable to the accuracy of clinical diagnosis made by two psychiatrists. This was in line with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools, such as ASRS and WURS.

Treatment

If you have an undiagnosed ADHD, it can significantly affect your life. This can be in many aspects, from relationships to academic progress and work to the simple task of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help you recognize your strengths and difficulties, and also provide treatment options that improve your symptoms and coping mechanisms.

A qualified clinician, typically psychologist or psychiatrist will conduct an in-depth interview with you regarding your current symptoms using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. It will ask you standard questions about your levels inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences to create the full picture of your symptoms.

This is essential to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to determine the root of your symptoms, which will help determine the best treatment for you.

The DIVA assessment is an extremely efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to be valid as a criterion when compared with self-report scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concordance validity with these scales, and has good validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.

In contrast to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that are present in both childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling a more accurate comparison between sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to consider the impact of co-occurring disorders on manifestation of ADHD symptoms.

If your Psychologist does not prescribe medication, you may require an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further assessment and/or treatment. You can be referred to psychologists who specialize in more in-depth assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there are co-occurring or different diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid conditions, like depression or anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist suggest a suitable treatment plan.

Getting Started

Being diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life, offering explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a thorough evaluation requires the expertise of qualified medical experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and comprehensive tool, helps to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms across different stages of life. It also helps identify patterns of behavior and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and those of other conditions that can exhibit similar symptoms in adults, like depression or anxiety.


In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask a series of questions about symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The doctor evaluates the severity, frequency and duration of these symptoms in order to understand how they impact on the individual's life and functioning in a variety of settings. This information is then used to develop an accurate diagnosis.

The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has excellent reliability for conducting an assessment of ADHD in five areas of daily function that include education and work relationships home and family social connections, leisure time and hobbies.

For an authentic DIVA assessment, the individual being evaluated, their family members and friends must be present. This will help build trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which will be essential to the success of your assessment.

A psychiatrist or psychologist with expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can write a detailed professional report. This report will present the results of the assessment and recommend 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 might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a thorough evaluation. She will refer you to a specialist who will formulate an appropriate treatment strategy. Be aware that an amalgamation of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.