It's The Next Big Thing In Diva ADHD Assessment

DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis

DIVA is a semi-structured interview designed to enhance ADHD assessments in adults. This study aims at evaluating the validity of the criterion used to determine 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.

Signs and symptoms

ADD/ADHD symptoms affect all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career advancement, and the daily tasks we perform. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments take a holistic approach and look at how the symptoms affect all aspects of our lives. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will start by gathering information about your symptoms and health background. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured interview that evaluates both the core symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD on your life.

The DIVA is an interviewing tool designed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to evaluate the symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been proven to be extremely sensitive and specific. It is also extremely efficient in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can help raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis 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 which include hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. The psychologist will also look into the individual's history and examine their childhood experiences and how those may have influenced their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They appear over a long period of time from childhood to teenage years and into adulthood.

The DIVA can effectively detect those suffering from ADHD by taking into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD during childhood and into adulthood, and how those symptoms have affected an individual's daily functioning in five different areas of life - education and work, family/partnership relations and leisure time/social activities, and self-esteem and self-confidence. Other screening tools, for instance the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID revealed low sensitivity and negative predictive value.

Diagnosis

To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is crucial to evaluate the symptoms and their causes. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is also important to assess the impact of the symptoms on the person's life and work. This can be determined using a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some cases, asking for information from family and friends.

The DIVA is an interview with a semi-structured format that was initially designed for use with adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used by adults in other countries including Korea. The study examined the criterion valid of the Korean version (DIVA-5), in an actual clinical sample of patients with ADHD.

During the DIVA the doctor will inquire about ADHD symptoms during the early years of life and into adulthood. They will also ask the age at which they first noticed symptoms and the extent of impairment caused by these symptoms. The doctor also collects a diverse set of sociodemographic data and inquires about any psychiatric 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 detect psychiatric co-morbidity. 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 length 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. The diagnostic tool was demonstrated to have good compatibility with the WURS scale as well as fair concurrent validity with three self-report ratings instruments: the 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 similar to the accuracy of a clinical diagnoses given by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools like ASRS and WURS.

Treatment

If you are not diagnosed with ADHD, it can significantly affect your life. It can impact your relationships, academic performance, and work. It can also impact the way you manage your daily life. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses as well as provide treatments that can help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.

A licensed psychologist (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will have a structured conversation with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to assess your current symptoms. This will consist of standardised questions regarding your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to obtain a complete picture of your symptoms and the impact they have on your life.

This approach is crucial to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. It also allows us to understand the root causes of your symptoms, which can help determine the best treatment for you.

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

Contrary to the more conventional methods used to assess ADHD in adults, the DIVA evaluation focuses on identifying and discussing the symptoms that occur both during the teen years and into adulthood, increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and allowing for an accurate comparison between the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups. The DIVA assessment also permits consideration of the impact of coexisting disorders on presentation and severity of ADHD symptoms.

If your Psychologist is unable to recommend medication, it could be necessary to schedule an appointment with a pediatrician or Psychiatrist for a further assessment and/or therapy. You can be referred to psychologists who specialize in thorough assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring or different diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid disorders, such as anxiety or depression. This will enable your Psychologist to suggest the best treatment plan.

Getting Started

Being diagnosed with ADHD can be life-changing providing explanations for long-standing difficulties and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a good evaluation requires the expertise of experienced healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and extensive tool, helps to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms at various stages of life. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist and helps distinguish between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as depression or anxiety.

In an DIVA ADHD evaluation, a practitioner will conduct an organized interview to ask a series questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention, and the tendency to be impulsive. The clinician evaluates the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect an person in various settings. This information is then used to create an accurate diagnosis.

The DIVA assessment has been verified against other diagnostic tools and shows high sensitivity when compared with the WURS-brief, CAA DID and the assessment of a psychiatrist. It also has high validity when measuring ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships with home and family social interactions; free 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 helps build trust and a strong therapeutic connection, which is essential to the success of your evaluation.

adhd assessment women  or psychologist who is certified in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment will be able to provide a detailed report. This report will present the results of the assessment and suggest a treatment plan that is based upon evidence.

If you suspect that you or a loved one may be suffering from ADHD Contact us for an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and can provide an evaluation. She will then make a referral to specialists to design an effective treatment strategy. Be aware that the combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.