20 Things You Must Be Educated About Diva ADHD Assessment

DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis

DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview that has been developed to enhance ADHD assessments for adults. This study is designed to assess the validity of the criterion used in DIVA 2.0 and its concomitant 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

ADD/ADHD symptoms affect all aspects of our lives, from relationships to advancement in our careers and the daily tasks we perform. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments are holistic and look at how the symptoms affect all aspects of our lives. In your assessment, Dr. Schilling will begin by collecting details about your symptoms as well as health history. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to evaluate both the core symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and the impact these symptoms have had on your life.

The DIVA is a diagnostic interview tool developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to assess adult ADHD symptoms. It has been proven to have high sensitivity and specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying those suffering from the disorder. It can increase awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.

A qualified clinician, typically psychiatrists, will ask questions to determine the core symptoms of ADHD. These include inattention, hyperactivity and the tendency to be impulsive. The doctor will also analyze the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and the influence on their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They appear over a long period of time from childhood through teen years and then into adulthood.

The DIVA can effectively identify people suffering from ADHD because it takes into account both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in adulthood and childhood and how the symptoms have affected 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. Contrary to this other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief, which was compared with the CAADID and showed low accuracy and negative predictive values.

Diagnosis

In order to diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to determine the severity of the signs and symptoms as well as their history. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is important to consider the impact that the symptoms have on the individual's work and daily life. This can be evaluated using a structured clinical interview, the DIVA and, in certain instances, getting information from friends and family members.

The DIVA interview is a semistructured, structured interview that was originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been redesigned for use with adult patients in other countries as well, including Korea. This study examined the validity of the criterion used to determine the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.

During the DIVA the doctor will inquire about ADHD symptoms in childhood and adulthood. They will also inquire about the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the level of impairment caused by these symptoms. The clinician also collects a diverse set of sociodemographic data and asks about any psychosis-related comorbidity.

MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), as well as the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to determine if a psychiatric co-morbidity existed. Two psychiatrists with experience used the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 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 has good concurrent validity when compared to the WURS scale, and has fair validity when compared with three self-report ratings instruments which 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 DIVA-5's diagnostic accuracy was found to be similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnoses made by two psychiatrists. This was in line with the sensitivity and specificity of previous screening tools like the ASRS and the WURS.

Treatment

Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your life. This could be in a variety of areas from your relationships, work and academic progress to the simple tasks of managing your daily life. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms.

A qualified professional (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will conduct a structured conversation with you using the DIVA-5 instrument to assess your current symptoms. This will involve asking standardised questions about your levels hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. 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 crucial to ensure a complete diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also helps us understand the root causes of your symptoms, which helps inform your treatment.

The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adult ADHD with excellent sensitivity and specificity. It has also been proven to be valid as a criterion, when compared to self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these scales and has fair validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.

Unlike the more traditional methods for assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA test is focused on identifying and discussing symptoms that occur both during childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and allowing a more accurate comparison between the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups. The DIVA evaluation also provides an opportunity to consider the impact of co-occurring conditions on the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.

If your Psychologist cannot recommend medication, you may need to schedule an appointment with a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician to discuss further evaluation and/or treatment. They can then refer you to a specialist Psychologist to conduct an in-depth evaluation of your symptoms, and to look for differential or co-occurring diagnoses. This includes assessing comorbid conditions, like depression or anxiety. This will enable your Psychologist recommend an appropriate treatment plan.

Getting Started

Getting diagnosed with ADHD can be life-changing, offering explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a thorough evaluation requires the expertise of experienced healthcare experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized and comprehensive tool that can help to improve the accuracy of adult ADHD diagnosis by evaluating symptoms across 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 a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a clinician will use an organized interview to ask a series questions about the symptoms like hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The clinician assesses the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be used to make an accurate diagnosis.

understanding has been verified against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity when compared with the WURS-brief, CAA-DID and the assessment of a psychiatrist. It also has excellent reliability when assessing ADHD in five areas of daily functioning such as education and work, relationships, home and family social connections, free time and hobby.

For an accurate DIVA assessment, the person being assessed and their family and friends need to be present. This helps to establish trust and strengthen the therapeutic bond which is crucial for the success of the assessment.

A skilled psychiatrist or psychologist who is certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a detailed report. The report will detail the findings of the test and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the data.

Please contact us to set up an appointment if you suspect you or someone you love may have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can perform an assessment. She can then make an appointment with specialists to design an effective treatment strategy. Please be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.

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Pub: 09 Oct 2024 06:57 UTC

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